Infinite Loop of Proportional Existence
by evilpinklollipop
Summary: When the universe combines both existing truths and imaginary concepts, the base code of reality differs. Everything proportionally changes to compensate. Time and space splinter faster, deeper, as more and more impossible occurrences start to appear. Ander Fitz'elton was one of those imaginary things.
1. How It Started, At The End

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, _never ever,_ unfortunately speaking for myself of course. That means I hold no rights to, nor do I accept money for writing. It is simply for amusement and nothing more. Any franchises I use belong to their rightful owners- if I decide to throw in a twist here or there- and of course BBC Corp.

Summary: An absolutely normal girl, full of life, rippling with potential time, falls through the center of the universe. Pulled through the schism of reality, now she's stuck, very very stuck. And there's no way out. She will have to tiptoe through the infinite, and across the Medusa Cascade.

Author note: You know the drill, you get an idea stuck in your head and slowly - little by little- tears your mind apart until there's nothing left but the unimaginable need to write it down. You know, before it consumes the remaining pieces of your sanity? If you don't get it, well, good for you.

* * *

Before that, before everything else. Let's not get ahead of anything. Let's start this slow, in a linear time line. An action before a reaction, a cause before a means. The slow_ minute by minute _route. It is very important. Let's start with the basics: time and space. The universe is an infinite amount of simply put - stuff. Always spinning, always changing, always moving, always rippling back onto itself. Everything that is, everything that isn't. Very simple.

Multiple realities are not true, aren't they not. Yes meaning before no, only after no, so yes would be - no no yes no - meaning that multiple realities are not true, aren't they no not? Confused?...well.

Wibbily wobbily would be the simpler way of putting it. With a bit of timey wimey. _Just a splotch._ When everything that isn't smashes into one big thing that is. Anything; the world spinning the right direction, oranges being orange, cats - is wrong. Wrong, wrong, so very wrong.

No real number can be reached on the possibilities created by the infinite walls of space and time. Where every impossible occurrence happens all at once, never-ending but always changing, bending the rules a billion billion times over. Up versus down, what really is, what isn't- becomes just another variable able to be mocked and changed. Certain people sometimes never not see what isn't there. They laugh along, understanding the rules of what is.

Others can't stop becoming everything that isn't. Sucked into the void or into the cracks, never to be born in the first place, erased from all. A paradox on top of itself. Created in order to be uncreated, existing even though erased before creation. A timeline parallel to reality.

When everything that isn't, starts to affect everything that is- what happens? That is why we have to go back exactly one hour in time and space, one hour and a whole other universe between. That is when the first paradox occurred. When a girl meets a girl, meeting for the first time the girl who never existed.

The last TARDIS in the universe jerked out of the time stream, sending the man inside tumbling down into the library, curses traveling behind him. He lands hard against a bookshelf when he finally hits the back of the room, tumbling head over heels as his ship threw the biggest tantrum known to nonlinear dimensional beings. The man curls up into a defensive ball on the ground, his black leather jacket flung on top of his head. He brings a hand up to the back of his scalp, feeling a large sore start to form.

He hisses, kicking a large box off of his leg. The man with large ears and a scowl, in his ninth regeneration, groans and lets out a long string of curses in many different languages. He looks up as the ceiling shivers.

"What?!" He glares around him as he tried to find purchase. The TARDIS flung itself in every direction. "You think you're being cute?!" He will snarl, shielding his face as books are thrown every which way. "Well you're not!" The Doctor looks up as he heard a low creaking sound.

He only had time for his face to morph into one of horror as an entire bookcase fell on top of him.

The TARDIS continues to jerk and twist, slamming uncontrollable into the sides of the time vortex. Flinging herself towards and away from the universal schism shift, the change in Huyon energy making a quiver shake her exterior. She was going towards Earth, the year 2008, when the planet was just a level 5 habitat. Cardiff, to be exact. Exactly where the Doctor didn't want to go, but needed to be. Even with all nine of his regenerations he still needed her to run his important errands. Silly man.

The TARDIS shivered all the way to her heart, the suspended dying star used for her engine shifting to the left a half a nanometer. No no no, Let's not get ahead of anything. It was important that he met this particular girl in the correct order after all. Exactly one hour away. It is very important. A linear time line, starting it slow. An action before a reaction, a cause before a means. The slow_ minute by minute _route. Everything that is, everything that isn't. Very simple.

Something that doesn't exist starts a chain reaction, and tear, a ripple that vibrates through all of reality and starts to degrade everything that ever was. What would occur if the universe started to fall apart at the very beginning because of an outside influence?

Ending before it even starts.

* * *

Prologue: How It Started, At The End

Ander Fitz'elton was walking to the beach, her little town bordering the North Atlantic Ocean. She was using the curb of the road, the sidewalk too overgrown with weeds and cobwebs. Keeping one foot in front of the other, heel to toe, she walked the white line. She adjusted her large, oval shaped glasses, wiping away some dirt on the lens. She straightened them on her nose, the alignment slightly crooked since her last fitting.

She hummed along with the music in her headphones, her arms outstretched to keep her balance. Her backpack didn't help, the lopsided weight making her more top heavy. The back roads were deserted seeing how it was still early morning. There wasn't a reason for anyone to be out. It was a small fishing town, the buildings hundreds of years old, the retirement community high and self sustaining. There weren't many kids, just one middle school in the entire city. Everyone knew each other, making Ander's family the odd ones out, just moving here two years ago.

She jumped over a tree branch that had fallen on the road, skipping a little as she almost lost her acrobatic footing on the faded painted line. She slapped a passing mailbox as she bobbed her head to the drums. She was an awkward shape, and no matter how much she walked or tried to play sports, she stayed that way. Compared to the rest of her class, she was very chubby. That was why she was going to the beach, so she could get ready for class, to brace herself for the taunting and ridicule. Maybe she could read another chapter in her book? Reading while the sun came up, listening to the waves hitting the shore, it was nice.

"_It's been such a long time since I meet you back on Skaro_." She skipped to the beat, beating air like she was playing the drums. Ander was a terrible singer. Horrible even. But in the back roads of her neighborhood who would hear her murdering the lyrics?

"_And I'm pretty sure that you kno-ow._"

She tapped her fingers to the piano keys, glancing over at the duck pond as she passed it, admiring the birds that had come back for the start of spring. The old watch on her wrist started to count backwards, the dial spinning over and over as she tapped the side of her phone. But she didn't have a reason to notice.

She jumped over another fallen tree branch. "_Exterminate! Regenerate!_"

Oh, oh she was butchering it, destroying it she just knew it. But she couldn't hear her voice over the crescendo and she looked away from the water as she moved her head unabashed to the song. Swinging her head to the beat, she turned away from the pond as she pretended to hit the drums, over-dramatically spinning in place. Her eyes closed as she hummed along, her fingers tapping along to the drums. The road went quiet as the birds in the trees weren't there anymore, or the bugs, or planes in the sky. Only the sound of blaring music from Ander's headphones and her once-in-awhile hums and do das.

"_Regenerate! Exterminate!_" she chirped as she turned it up louder, biting her tongue. Ander was dancing in place, forgetting about the white line, school, and the mean girls in her class.

"_We both carry the fire that has the power to end life. But what to do with that flame is what separates our types_." Her brown hair hit her cheeks tightly as she swung her head, she didn't let her mom braid it like normal, she liked her hair in its natural fluffy manner. It was big and raggedy, like a curly afro, like her father's was before he passed.

Then, there weren't any ducks in the duck pond. A cold chill swept through the trees above her, a gust of wind at her feet blowing leaves up into the air. She couldn't hear the low pitch whine and creaking that came from every direction, the bark of the trees cracking under unseen pressure. The mailbox down the road behind her started to sway, the flap springing open as mail was flung out. Caught up in the sudden gust, it blew the papers, leaves, and sticks up into the trees.

There weren't any cars on any road, and there weren't any clouds. The sun that started to rise behind her stalled. And then slowly, slowly-

The sun started to set.

She didn't open her eyes, licking her chapped lips and trying to keep the skip out of her step. God, this was going to be good wasn't it? She just bought the album, and there wasn't going to be anything that could stop her from enjoying it. This was the band that started it all, the series she liked so much. She grinned and got ready for the best chorus of the song, slapping the sides of jeans to the piano solo.

The creaking was as now almost loud enough to hear over her music and she tapped the ear buds to get rid of what she thought was static. The whining had now changed to snapping and cracking, what now sounded like someone dropping dishes changed to ear shattering, slamming, breaking. It was closer than before, and the sun was almost down, only lines of red on the horizon. And she didn't notice. Ander didn't notice.

"_Exterminate! Regenerate!_"

There was a banging noise. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. The very earth seemed to vibrate with the sound. The wooden post snapped, the mailbox thrown violently, breaking into pieces as it hit the other side of the road.

Suddenly everything was behind her, the sounds, the screeching, breaking and screaming. Ander let out a startled yelp as her headphones turned to static and made her hear bells. She yanked them out quickly, almost dropping her phone. Her ears buzzed and turned red in pain; she stuck a quick pinkie finger into her ear and she squawked. Ander twisted her finger painfully and hissed-

Hands grabbed her shoulders tightly, painfully, gorging into her skin.

Ander didn't have time to scream as she was spun around, her glasses almost falling off the bridge of her nose. The world turning into colors, leaving her dizzy and unbalanced. Her stomach lodged into her throat, a breath escaped her forcefully. It took her eyes a few seconds longer to focus after her body came to a rest, the offending hands holding her painfully tight. They were digging into her spring jacket and keeping her in place. She made eye contact with the person behind her and took a sharp breath through her nose, her jaw locking in shock.

They were wearing what looked like the same jacket, or what was left of it. Hair matted, the left side of her face burned. Her eyes were dark, the blue rimmed glasses cracked and crooked. Her face was very, very aggressive. Ander couldn't break eye contact but there was blood under her eyes, on her neck and a growl on her lip, and a cold -so so cold disregard for the fact she was covered in too much blood and _skin should not be pulled back that way!_

Everything was happening too fast. Ander's head began to spin as she tried to straighten herself, everything in fast forward. The buzz of hysteria was starting, her limbs turning hot and heavy.

She brought her face closer to Ander's and she could feel her breath. She could smell the drying blood, the smell of petrol and dirt, her face inches from hers. Which she should not be able to do! Shouldn't! No no no no. Ander looked in horror at what remained of her face, her own going green as she watched her reflection pull back her lips in a sneer, blood coating her front teeth. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, she couldn't do anything. No, no no no. This wasn't happening. It was too fast! Everything was too fast! Because as she stared at herself the world went white as Ander forgot to breathe.

It couldn't be? It wasn't her. That wasn't possible. It was a joke. There was no way that she could be standing there. It was her. Her. It was herself.

There wasn't anything else because standing right in front of her, looking at her, was herself. Not much older, a head and chest length taller, a fuller chest, but the face was the same. Her big nose, the same hairline, and the same chin. The glasses were almost the same too. The same big boned body, though thinner, more developed and feminine, muscular. She could have been her older sister, if she didn't have blue eyes. No one in her family had them, just her father, and her father was gone.

It was too much for the ten-year old girl. Ander's brain froze, unable to process anything at all and she phased out, her brain turned to static. Her entire body went rigid as she looked at the monster in front of her. Who was so _so very angry. _She started to tremble, her lips moving even though nothing came out.

"_You_." the image in front of her swallowed heavily, trying not to sneer. _"You know who I am."_

Ander jumped, her body jerking like every word struck through her nerves. She couldn't move, the girl was only a few years older than her, but her strength was unimaginable. She couldn't move! Like the hands tightening around her collar bone, leaving bruises, were forcing her body to turn to stone. The sound of the voice was harsh. It was hoarse, sounding like she had swallowed nails and drank sandpaper. If possible Ander felt like more air left her lungs, creating a painful vacuum. A quick hiccup escaped her. No no no. Not happening.

A dream?

A prank?

Ander watched as the other her opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to either find her words or her voice. Her eyes went wide, and Ander could see the hysteria, the crazed glaze look as she tried to control her mouth from forming into a snarl. She jumped again when the other her shook her head violently, trying to shake off the insane and animal like face it kept curling into.

Suddenly her reflection sagged slightly in front of her, and it let out a harsh breath. The other her shook violently, her arms almost too heavy to stay up, even though her hands continued to dig into her flesh.

Ander was finally able to take her own shaky breath when the thing in front of her broke eye contact. Instead it closed its eyes, fighting off pain. Ander didn't notice but she was shaking, trembling as she finally noticed the constant high-pitched _hissing _around them. She was going to throw up. She was going to throw up the Gatorade she just drank and the breakfast she just finished. She was going to do it, and she felt her heartbeat in her ears and felt it pound in her chest. O_h my god!_

Ander needed to get away. She had to get away. She wasn't brave like her brothers, or strong like her sister. She didn't have a dad that taught her these things like other kids. She was short, and stupid, and a coward. She was the book nerd of the family, the scaredy-cat of the school. She couldn't stop herself as the other her, the _thing_ made eye contact again. However, this time the eyes were losing some of its intensity, the anger draining away into a cold, tired, weary face. Ander found her eyes growing hot, the edge of her vision wobbling with moisture.

"_You._" The thing, herself, said again and Ander lost it.

"_L-Le-let_." Ander's lips trembled dangerously, and she could barely hear herself over the hissing. "_L-let me go_-"

It yanked her violently, shaking her in place and she screamed. It didn't stop. She let out another hysterical scream, louder than she ever did before, and Ander couldn't figure out where the pain started and the girls fingers ended.

"Lis_ten_!" It screamed, bringing her face right next to Ander's again.

Ander was nodding before she comprehended it and the violent shaking stopped as suddenly as it began. A dry sob left her throat, forgetting her childish pride, and Ander could barely see the monster through her tears. She wailed like the child she was. She shook in place, losing it and everything else. Ander didn't notice, but had she not been sobbing, she would have noticed. How they both were crying. The teenager looked down at herself, watching the little girl. The other her took in another shaky breath.

"_You, You... are going to hate..._" Her voice sounding terrible. "_You're going to hate this trip the most. You are going to hate it, and me. You have every right to." _She was shaking, and the teenager rambled as she lost her voice. She brought their faces together, trying to remember what it was like being her. To be nothing more than a scared little girl_. "Get rid of this if you want, get rid of me. Find another way to get here. But those two."_

She painfully smiled, the edges of it trembling dangerously. _"Save them both." _

She didn't give Ander's mind any time to comprehend it, before she let go of her shoulders, pushing her roughly back. She lost her footing immediately, a high-pitched scream hurting her ears as she fell back. Through her tears, everything exploded into gold.

And she fell up.

* * *

AUTHOR NOTES:

Okay? Well. That's nice. I've gone and done it again. Whoopee. Started to listen to Chameleon Circuit and then BAM! Instant idea. So, yeah, never actually wrote a Doctor Who Fan fiction in years that I didn't immediately drop. But, lets give this another go, shall we? Review and tell me what you think. Please? Or just read the next one and I'll take it as you want me to continue. I would like your opinion though.

…

Right, to the next chapter!

Ander: "No. _That's not fair. _This is bad writing."

What you can't say that! I made you and it wasn't that bad. Suck it up!

Ander: "Not that bad? You made me sound like a _little baby!_"

Oh for the love of! Shut up!

Now, onwards to chapter one!

Review please.


	2. Reality Verses Imaginary

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Never ever, unfortunately speaking for myself of course. That means I hold no rights to, nor do I accept money for any of my writing, on any site. It is simply for amusement. Any franchises I use belong to their rightful owners- if I decide to throw in a twist here or there- and of course BBC corp.

Summary: She was a normal girl. Absolutely normal. Full of life, rippling with potential time, she falls through the center of the universe. Pulled through the schism of reality, now she's stuck- very very stuck. And there's no way out. She will have to tiptoe through the infinite, and across the Medusa Cascade.

Chapter summary: If you suddenly met a man you saw on the television in a dark cave, would that be interesting? Or would the damp, dark cave full of soldiers, and weird machines be more terrifying than exciting? Ander was not going to run off with a man who actually thought _stone angels _were alive.

* * *

Would everyone notice _immediately_ if they woke up to a world without dolphins? Or would it take longer than a day? If all the clocks stopped at two fifteen and never changed? If millions of stars went out at the same time, families disappearing while going to see a movie no one can remember, entire portions of history simply turning to blank pages in record books?

The simplest things are becoming all wibbily wobbily, breaking down: what has occurred, what will happen, could happen? Would there be consequences if no one could tell the difference anymore? The rules changing so fast, it's as if there were never differences in the first place. What is there to mourn, if the memories and events are unwritten?

All that is imaginary, that could never happen, is starting to exist. However, only a handful of people in the universe are noticing the difference. Everything that exists is smashing into everything that doesn't, blending to the point of being indistinguishable between the two. Would the few who knew the reality of before perceive everything as wrong, or would the majority rule as the new norm?

When exposed to high levels of radiation a person can talk, walk down the street, breathe and crack jokes with their friends - but they were dead twenty minutes ago. It's the same with reality. The threads keeping everything together are collapsing, falling apart, and the ending happened before the beginning even started.

* * *

Chapter One: Reality Versus Imaginary.

The two of them ran around, the other quickly glancing in half interest through the display cases. The room was empty and brightly lit, a few hours before the doors were ready to open. They were all but skipping around glass cases, old flags, portraits, and figurines, labeled in fine print with their dates and rightful discoverers. The room held a distinguished air, the feel of prestige and rightful pride made the owners of the buildings hold their chins up high and their wallets fat with charity. Bright red rope kept the more touching patrons from handling the priceless artifacts of time. Most people were astonished by the ages of the wonderful objects of history; it was a time of knowledge, museums and archeologist held in high regard and respected.

"Wrong. Wrong. Bit right, mostly wrong." He was scowling at each and every object, not hesitating to poke and probe at them. "I love museums!" He twirled around the room, like an oversized giddy kid. He tugged on his bow tie once, a large, goofy grin on his face, and large dimples splitting his cheeks. His facial features didn't match the rest of him, his body lanky, a tweed jacket, suspenders, and dress pants almost too elderly for his frame. He was most definitely a strange man. The ginger behind him groaned, rolling her eyes and pulling her hand out of his. She stopped running and crossed her arms.

Crazy, raggedy old man and his weird mood swings. He meets another one of his old arch enemies- the Daleks- saves the world, and gets a little bit crazier.

"Yeah, great. Can we go to a planet now? Big spaceship, Churchill's bunker. Let's hit a planet next. Grab him, the other guy if you need." She glanced dully inside another glass box, not really caring. She wasn't being snippy, no no. Just, you know, being eagerly persuasive in order to get what she wanted.

"Amy, this isn't any old asteroid. It's the _Delirium Archive_. The final resting place of the Headless Monks. The biggest museum ever." He was gloating yes, but come on, it was simply fascinating. "Like he'd come here. No, no leave him on the TARDIS to mope." He scoffed and wagged a quick finger her way. The ginger was starting to worry about the amount of times she rolled her eyes each day. Can a person's eyes fall out? She was starting to think they would actually fall out. It was just an old wives' tale though, right?

"You've got a time machine. What do you need museums for?" she groaned, resisting the urge to stomp her foot. There was a big blue, amazing box that could take someone anywhere they wanted to go, any_when_ anyone could ever want to see, and here they were in a _museum_? The audacity. He ignored her, of course, still running from one side of the room to another.

"Wrong! Very wrong. Ooh! One of mine. Also one of mine." He tapped on top of another glass box, grinning widely back at her. She blinked a few times as it sunk it, before grinning slyly, finally getting it. Sly old man eh, she saw what he was doing now.

"_Oh I see_." She wiggled her eyebrows and tapped the glass nearest to her. "It's how you keep score."

The Doctor frowned, sending a halfhearted scowl her way. The bored ginger, Amy Pond, looked around the rest of the room. He kept jumping around, glass case to glass case, pulling the reluctant Pond with him. Suddenly he stopped, rounding on an old stone box. It is now ancient and decayed, but with the letters still visible. He leaned over the glass, curious like a child at the candy store.

"It's a flight recorder from one of the old star liners." His eyes are moving quickly, darting around, seeing something more.

"So?" She folds her arms and frowns. Really, it looked like a giant brick to her.

"The writing. The graffiti. Old High Gallifreyan! The lost language of the Time Lords." The way his voice would suddenly sound so much older, darker, deeper, it would catch Amy off guard each time he did it. "There were days—_there were many days_—these words could burn stars, and raise up empires, and topple gods." A sudden, cold shiver ran up her arms. She leaned over the glass too, holding her breath.

"What does this say?"

The Doctor pauses, tapping his fingertips quickly and agitatedly on the glass. His forehead wrinkled again and Amy absentmindedly counted each one quickly. The nine hundred year old man pouted darkly, grinding his teeth. Slowly, reluctantly, The Doctor made eye contact.

"…'Hello, _Sweetie." _The Doctor growled, and said it through clinched teeth.

* * *

Ander was falling through gold. Which should be impossible, because when a person fell they usually fell through air, towards the ground. You don't fall left, or right, and a person most definitely does not fall up. They don't fall through anything but air; you need gravity of course, but you need air to fall through and go splat on the ground with. Most definitely. Probably.

But here she was, falling through gold, rivers upon rivers of flowing gold - flowing, moving, hissing, gold. And she was falling up. Which did not, in the least, make any sense. Her brain shouldn't be able to process anything but falling down, and here she was falling upwards. Through what felt like _living gold. _Did she mention she was falling up? Yeah, about that falling up thing. At first it had terrified her, being pushed into falling up. She screamed for what felt like forever, screamed her throat raw and painful, but that had been a while ago.

She had looked at her phone after sobbing like a little baby, noticing it was still held in a death grip in her left hand, from when she first fell. Strange, seeing how her backpack was all but ripped off her shoulders. It was surprising that her glasses were staying on her face. She guessed that fitting she got last week was actually a good idea. She would have to thank her mom again. When she got out of here anyways. She had already gone through the seven stages of denial, backwards and a dozen times over. She continued her descent up - wait wait; ascent? Confusing to say the least. Now her arms were just limply outstretched around her, and her face which had once been ripped into one of pure terror was now extremely off-put. To be honest? She brought her phone back to her face. She read the time.

"_Really_!" Her voice cracked. It sounded horrible, scratchy from the overuse. "It's not scary anymore!" she whined, looking around, to the left, then right. It was the same molten floating gold. Her eyes crossed as she tried to look at the small particles that passed over her nose. She hissed and glared as nothing changed. She was done. Over, out, completely done with it and everything. She was done, done. Done! Flinging her arms out in the attempt to hit something, she yelped as her mass shifted, making her spin like a top through the air... airy gold stuff.

In an acrobatic move she had practiced since falling, she swung her legs out, righting herself around so she was now falling up on her back. She kicked her legs out, flailing around for the utmost time as she growled.

"Am I gonna _die_ forever?!" Her prepubescent voice squeaked over the rushing gold.

Actually? Once she actually thought about it, could she die by falling to death? Was that even a thing? Had anyone ever died that way? Falling forever? Not that she knew; it wasn't like she was aware falling up into gold was a retro occurring thing either. Wait, wait? She wasn't in denial or anything, but she wasn't just going to die right? Someone was going to save her right? She was not going to die. There was going to be someone who knew she was here. Someone had to know. It wasn't going to end like this. It wasn't. She didn't want to die. Another hysterical scream left her throat and she continued to kick at nothing.

"Someone let me out!" She attempted to scream again, flinging her body around. The cracked screech bounced off the gold and echoed around her as she continued to fall up. She flung her arms and legs, her jacket wrapping around her head.

"Out! Out! Out!" She needed to get out. "Let me out!"

And then, like the gold itself had finally gotten tired of the wait, everything started to speed up. She could feel as she was tugged forward, a waiting scream pushed out of her chest roughly. The flowing gold around her flashed brightly, and Ander slammed her eyes closed. She was flung forward again, harder. The skin of her face rippling at the pressure.

Even if she wanted to yell she couldn't, and the pulling sensation got to the point of unbearable. She tensed her body as hard as she could, her arms and legs pulled tight, readying for the impact. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and the familiar sound of the earlier hissing returned. Then, like it was showing her mercy, there was a bright white flash behind her eyes, blinding her from the insane gold. Done. This was it.

Ander's body snapped, painfully stopping with a loud thud. The air in her lungs wheezed out, her eyes rolling under her eyelids. And then time stopped.

How long did she just lay there? How long?

Her eyes were closed and Ander was in and out of consciousness. It felt like hours until she finally, completely came to. The spinning and nausea settled into the pits of her stomach and she could still taste pickled ginger. Everything tingled and it felt like her entire body was vibrating. Finally, when her lungs started to hurt from unconsciously holding her breath, she started to believe this was reality. A loud gasp echoed through the darkness and the small chubby girl jerked around on the ground.

Ander opened her eyes, a loud wheezing breath escaping against the dirt. She could feel the dirt up to her ears, and the buzzing in her head and the fire on her skin. The sharp stabbing of her glasses dug into her eyes, dirt burying under them and into her eyes. Did she even have a face anymore? She could feel her nose crushed up against her face and she wondered if it was broken. Or maybe it was just a puddle of goo slightly attached? Her chest creaked loudly as she took a deeper breath, as far as she could, inhaling dust and whatever else she had fallen on. She uncurled her fingers slowly, painfully, one by one on each hand. Then, she carefully paid attention as she dug them into the ground, feeling the damp crust bury under her nail beds.

Good, good. She could still feel her fingers and skin. Slowly she twitched different muscles in her legs, moving them independently in her human-shaped hole.

Legs! Still got legs! She was almost giddy at the thought of them, laughing hysterically, her chest moving up and down though she didn't utter a sound. She moved her ankles, still had both, that was good. Good old legs. She moved her big toe on each foot; she could still feel her socks, and the inside of her shoes. Slowly she moved her arms, waiting for the stab of pain from broken bones or pierced skin. She felt the prickle of her clothes against her arms, the zipper of her jacket digging in against her stomach.

Just because she couldn't feel pain, didn't mean there wasn't any, she chided herself. Just because there wasn't unbearable deathly death didn't mean there wasn't pain just second away. She broke her arm when she was eight, and didn't feel anything for almost a minute, so she knew what shock was. Shock was bad, very very bad. She blinked slowly, turning her eyes from right to left, shaking the dirt off her lenses, looking over the dirt around her. Ander tried to focus her eyes on anything, to make out a shape.

Oh. She was blind. Her mind was numb, completely frozen over apparently, because as she continued to check herself over she wondered slightly why that fact didn't bother her. She stuck her tongue out quickly, tasting the ground. Yes, yes, that was most defiantly dirt. Dirty dirt. She brought her hand up to wipe the smudges off her glasses and straighten them on her throbbing nose.

Ander needed to make sure she wasn't dying. Dying came first.

Slowly she moved her hands under her chest and pushed. She groaned low as she heaved herself up. Dear god that hurt.

That was a terrible idea. Horrible! She groaned loud, the pain from her abdomen was incredible and she bit into her lip. Still had lips, good good. That meant she still had a face. Faces were good, and cool, and useful, and she rather liked hers. Ander took a couple more large gasps, each one just as painful as the last. Crap, did she break her chest? Can you break your chest? She remembered how her brother once bruised his ribs so bad he had to go to the hospital after football practice. That was also the first time she saw him cry. Oh, no no no. That was not good, she had to get up, and get help.

She brought her hands up to feel herself, looking around for any holes or broken things. She checked every inch, trailing her fingers over every crevasse, every edge, before looking around again, still not caught up with the fact she couldn't see anymore. She fingered the bruises on her arms, rubbed the blue smudges on her stomach. The center of her back throbbed and ached, her spine clicking. She read a book once about understanding injuries. She loved to read whatever she could find, about any subject, she would have a go. Ander never really thought the skills that got her bullied would one day come in handy.

Even if she couldn't see, she knew she would move, because now she needed to. She needed to get up. Because she just fell from an unknown amount of height and she needed to go find an adult. She held out a hand in front of her, blinking her eyes rapidly. It would come back? Right? Right, of course it would. Yeah of course, she's heard of this, it's temporary and caused by head injury. Right, right, right. What was she doing again? Oh, oh right. She needed to get up and find some help. Why did she forget that? Did she have a head injury? That would explain the blindness right? Right, wait she was doing something right? Ander blinked, waving her hand back and forth in front of her.

Wait. Wait, she could see something. Over there!

There was a dim light, covered in dirt but there. Ander half threw herself at it, crawling in panic, afraid it would go out. She ignored the pain in her arms as they burned in protest, dragging herself through the dirt and puddles. It was under a deep layer of earth but she dug it out quickly. Whatever it was had left a decent sized crater around it. It was almost like where she fell, remembering the human shaped print around her. The two of them must have hit the ground harder than she had thought. Bringing it up to her face, she wiped the dirt off the screen with shaking fingers, almost dropping it a few times in her lap. She rubbed her glasses again, just in case she wasn't seeing what it really was. Her fingers felt rubbery and the muscles in her arms still felt weird.

It was her phone, perfectly intact, the music paused on the same song from her neighborhood road, at two minutes and fifteen seconds. But it was her phone. It was her phone that had a built-in flashlight! A phone with built-in GPS, and amazing other great life saving functions. _Like being a phone. _Oh_, _thank you. A shrill laugh left her as she sat on the ground, hugging the phone to her chest like a lifeline. She rocked for a few seconds before she brought the beautiful piece of perfection up and held it to the sky to worship it, in awe at her luck.

A phone meant she had light, meaning she wasn't blind, meaning it was only really, really dark. A phone meant a way out. A phone meant survival.

This was a way out of wherever she was, away from wherever the hell she fell from. How she got here was still a mystery, her memories and mind still trying to right itself from the fall. She could feel the confusion and paranoia through the haze, her body still in fight or flight mode as she tried to rock herself into a better physical state, the childish whim of ignoring it until it went away the only solution. She couldn't remember; her memory felt like it had been put through a shredder, muddled with bits and pieces not lining up right. She had eaten breakfast right? Yep, and then she... she went for a...walk, yeah? She went for a walk. She drank a sports drink. She was going to the beach, right right. And then, and then...

"_Try to save them both." _

Ander stiffened, her eyes wide, and the light barely illuminating what looked like a cave around her. She turned to look behind her, the imaginary voice echoing through her brain, as real as when it was said earlier. She must have stopped breathing again because she was surprised when she had to take another deep breath, her chest aching.

She remembered now, the last thing that... that thing had told her? The thing, which will be called _very creepy monster _for her mental health for now. Words echoed through her head over and over. Somewhere, out there was a zombie who - a monster, she chided herself - who definitely just threw her into an acid trip fueled hell. An acid trip made of gold. _Gold acid_. Gold acid that made you fall instead of melt. Falling up actually. The traveling pants made of acid gold that made you fall upwards?

Did she have a concussion? She always thought of herself as kind of clever, but now her brain felt wrong. She felt weirdly...well, slow.

Her head was pounding and she brought a hand up to rub her scalp, pulling at her raggedy hair. Well, it felt like she a concussion. She could feel her heartbeat in her teeth. She blinked and pushed the image of a gold gorilla in cargo pants swimming in a molten gold in her head away. She shook her head. Maybe a concussion? She needed to get up and get out of here. She rubbed her temples to clear the fuzz in her ears, trying to think straight. She clicked the phone screen, but found that her eyes wouldn't focus. She needed to call the police, but as she typed in the needed numbers she frowned.

There wasn't any signal.

Great, how typical, get lost and the signal drops. OK then, Ander huffed, the manual way then. First thing first, get up. She rubbed her head and groaned. Just stop pounding already. God, what she wouldn't do for some painkillers now. She moved her right foot first, dragging it over the ground, making what felt like thousands of needles prickle her skin. She hissed. Slowly, she had to do this slowly.

She put her arms out to balance as her ankles wobbled, the pain in her stomach making her take short breaths. She slowly moved, testing out her weight on wobbly legs with slow measured steps, mumbling under her breath as her muscles buckled. Each part of her legs shook like mad, her feet heavier than they were supposed to be. What felt like needles stabbed into her toes, blood finally returning to her extremities. Using the flashlight application on her phone she followed the side of the wall, grabbing it with one hand and using her arm for balance. She ran her hand slowly over the rock, taking one step, then another, testing out the durability of each part of her foot.

It took her awhile to make it to the first doorway, leading into more dark. Color finally came back to skin on her legs, the skin exposed from knee high jeans, her face no longer pale. Once she started walking though, the tingling left her feet and blood circulation returned to her fingertips. Ander sighed in relief as the last of the pain left her arms and legs, happy that none of it seemed to be permanent.

The walls were tall and smooth. Each corridor was long and foreboding, jagged rocks sticking up in odd angles and the floor uneven and bumpy. The ceiling looked as though they were never ending. There were times it was as if she was climbing the side of a mountain, crawling on her hands and knees up smaller tunnels. The roof was barely above her head and sometimes she almost didn't fit through the tighter passageways. She was covered in dirt in no time. After an hour or so she found herself in large catacombs, the ceiling too high to see. Cliff sides were hanging off the ceiling from as far as she could see. The light of her phone was a godsend, but it still wasn't enough. She kept tripping over large rocks and bumps on the ground, the blue light creating a very _very eerie_ bubble of sight.

She could see maybe ten feet ahead of her, the shadows flickering around her. It was terrifying. She wasn't sure if she was closer to the exit or if she was just getting more lost. It didn't help that it was cold, and wet. The dirt that clung to her was soggy and caked on, creating a layer of sludge on her exposed skin. It felt like hours as she traced corners, going through corridor after corridor, and her lips started to chatter from the cold. She rubbed her head and huffed, if she caught some sort of weird cave disease like Ebola she would throw a fit.

She could just imagine her classmates laughing at her from her hospital bed. Like how they all wrote curse words on the cast when the teacher wasn't looking. Her ears went red from the thought.

As she turned another corner she looked behind her, turning her phone so she could look back down the large tunnel. She never liked the dark,_ not like she had a night-light in her bedroom or anything_, but now she had been stuck in it for hours and she knew her brain was trying to play tricks on her. She kept seeing things move in the corner of her eye. The smallest noises were making her jump. She stopped to look deeper into the dark, staring it down. Clattering, and the sound of what she hoped was just rocks, made her freeze up almost every few minutes. She had never hated being alone as much as she did now. She started walking again, still looking behind her back. It is never a good idea to walk through the dark backwards, but Ander didn't really have a choice anymore. The dark was almost a living entity in her mind now. She could feel it on the back of her neck, the paranoia setting in as the dark flickered around her. What she wouldn't do for a light switch right about now.

She flicked her eyes back and forth, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up. She glared at the tunnel in front of her, silently daring whatever was hiding in the dark to show up. She walked slowly, feeling the ground with the tips of her shoes before fully committing to each step. She walked inch by inch, watching the tunnel behind her as she saw less and less. That is, until her hand hit air.

Alright, another tunnel. She grabbed the edge of the doorway, slowly turning her body around to face it. She strained her neck so she could continue to stare behind her. Yeah, hopefully this way would go towards the exit. She slowly turned around, her phone already in front of her to light the way. She didn't want to look away from the dark, not that she was afraid, she was just hesitating before slowly turning her eyes. She wasn't a chicken. She blinked once as her mind caught up to her vision.

There were stone faces.

'"Fuck!" She jumped, automatically striking the figure hard on the stomach with a closed fist. She screamed, throwing her hand over the other, hissing at her burning knuckles, dropping her phone. The figure was huge, twice as tall as her, and a hell of a lot thicker too. For a second Ander thought it was a man looming over her. When it didn't move, standing there like the stone it was, the hair on the back of her neck start to go down. Good thing Mom wasn't here; she hated foul language.

She grabbed the front of her jacket, rubbing her knuckles into the fabric in an attempt to sooth them. She just slapped stone, and that hurt! Really, really hurt! Taking a short breath through her teeth - the scream made her most definitely bruised ribs creak - the sharp stabbing sensation ripping into her chest. Her face was getting hot, her ears a bright red. She had to take another deep breath, and she squeezed her eyes closed hard. She was not going to cry like a little girl, she was not a little girl, she wasn't going to let a little pain get to her.

Their faces were completely crumbled, only blank holes left over for their facial features. They were statues, statues! There were maybe a dozen freaking stone statues standing in the tunnel. They were old and broken down. One had one arm broken off, another without either, and all of their faces crumbled and gone, but could it be any more terrifying? Statues just hanging around in the dark? Really?

"Who puts statues in a dark cave?" She was all but wailing at it, her voice whining. What kind of evil, horrible person would do that? Her chest already hurt, and she tried to ignore her trembling hands, trying to stay brave. "Trying to scare me to death?" She hissed at the one right in front of her. "You deserved that hit, you did!" Stupid statues!

She growled, sticking her tongue out as she looked around desperately for her phone. It had somehow dropped in the middle of the group, laying innocently on top of one of the statue's feet. She bit her lip, her ears hot, and made her way over. She tried to glare at each and every figure she passed, keeping up her brave act. How dare they scare her like that! She was having a bad day, give her a break already. She bent down to pick up her phone and grumbled. Great, just great, she was lost in a dark cave, alone, with faceless _statues. They were scary. Sh_e hadn't been this scared since going into that haunted house last Halloween.

_Faceless statues around dark, blind corners. _How could she forget the most important part. What lovely statues, they were the most pretty terrifying statues she had ever been blessed to see. She was a snarky kid, she knew, but this was serious.

Ander took a deep breath, her fingers curling around her phone as she got the rest of her wits back, her fingers scraping against stone. She pushed up her glasses as she felt the stone crumble under the touch. Good, she didn't feel bad about it falling apart. She felt smug. Next time someone came down here there wouldn't be anything left to scare anyone with. That was a great thought.

She was almost completely up when she stopped, her hand hovering just over the rock form, the last of the trembling leaving her arms. She stood still, trying to figure out what was wrong, something just not quite right. She blinked. Actually? That wasn't a breeze was it?

She hesitated before slowly placing her palm fully against the thing, looking up at its hollow face. She pressed her fingers into the grooves of its chest, digging her blunt nails into the crust. Tilting her head to the side and squinting, she tried to see every detail as she leaned forward. For a statue, that didn't make sense. After all, wasn't she in a dark, damp, cold cave? Most likely underground too. So it couldn't be, impossible actually. No way. She brought her phone closer, making the rock brighter under her hand, digging them in harder for good measure.

"That's weird," she mumbled, scratching her stomach at the aches. She took a step closer, looking up at the unmoving face. She blinked once, feeling the air pressure suddenly change, her ears popping. "It's warm? It can't..._can't be_?"

Why would it be warm? It was rock, the cave was cold even to her with her jacket on. "Right?"

She frowned at her own question, looking into its empty eye sockets. Why did it feel like it was radiating heat? Slowly she took a breath in and stepped back, pulling her hand back. Freaky, it was just freaky to her, and she couldn't understand it. Maybe it was something she hadn't learned from class yet? She wasn't that good in biology, she failed her last test. Never found a book in the library about it either. She leaned back more, careful of her ribs, glancing behind her so she wouldn't bump into any other statues. Rocks didn't generate heat right? But she could feel it coming off it like a heater and she scrunched up her face in thought. It was almost like, well, it was almost like...

No. No way. Ander snorted.

She was not going to start that. She already knew her head was wrong because of the dark, broken and slow from the fall. She was paranoid and lost, injured and alone. It was like camp all over again. Her mind was just playing tricks on her, that's it. It felt warm because she most likely was starting to have hypothermia. Her mom got that once, said it's when your body gets really cold so everything feels really warm. That was it. Just that, nothing else.

Like a _statue_ could be alive?

Now she was sure she had a concussion.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" The man screeched, finger on the trigger as he jumped into the tunnel. The scream echoed through the catacombs. Ander's ears were ringing, and she didn't have time to comprehend what was being said.

She screamed loudly, spinning in place with wide eyes. The man behind her screamed too. Ander flung herself back, stumbling into the stone statue behind her and screamed at the sight of the gun pointed at her head. The man at the sight of a little kid screaming screamed again. Both of them kept yelling, making eye contact as they let out identical screams. Ander flung her arms up and the world went dark and blood rushed to her ears. She vaguely remembered someone else coming into the corridor before she tripped over her own feet.

Holy mother of cafeteria food! She must have let out another scream because suddenly there was an explosion of activity, her phone finished flying through the air, settled somewhere behind the man with the gun. Her butt hit the ground hard, her shoulder slamming painfully into one of the statues, and a thick cloud of dust flew up around her as her body went into autopilot. To her grave she would never admit it, but she cried out for her mommy. Her eye flicked around the room in panic, taking in the soldier with his gun in front of her, the bright light from his flashlight burning her eyes. There was a big gun! That was a_ big big big big_ gun! A panicked kind of sound came from her and Ander wheezed as she kicked her legs frantically.

"No! No no no! Don't you dare!" Someone else sprinted into the room and Ander finally cried out for help. Suddenly the man was between her and the gun with his arms extended forward.

"Help!" Ander didn't have time to thank the man. She didn't even look back as she flung herself backwards on the ground, crawling away as fast as she could. She could feel her arms burn, like battery acid flowed through her veins, her legs were so heavy each move felt like she was crawling through sludge. "Help!"

Her head pounded and her chest creaked. She crawled on her hand and knees, digging into the ground. She crawled around statue after statue to get away. When she had time to look back at this, she would probably be embarrassed at how she was acting - crawling around screaming bloody murder, her rear in the air. But what was she supposed to do, get shot? Stand there and take it like a man as she was turned to minced meat? No, no, no. All she could think about was the really, really big gun that was pointed at her. The guy looked just as scared as she, his eyes wide and his face pale. Said man was shaking, trying to point at her from around the guy.

She was chubby yes, but she was still half the size of a grownup. Ander used it to her advantage, making her way behind rocks and lunging behind the statues.

"No no no no! No shooting! _No shooting_!" The man who saved her was talking too quickly. He lunged at the soldier, his expression furious. Ander wasn't going to stick around to see what happened, and she ducked behind another statue. She could hear a struggle going on behind her, but she didn't stop crawling, yelling when she caught her breath.

"Does she look like an angel? No, that's a kid, a girl! Not an angel! Statues made of stone, time locked when you look at them remember! Now down! Put your gun down!" He was all but snarling. "Don't aim your_ little guns_ at a child! Don't you dare!"

"Doctor!" Someone else was screaming, and Ander started to army crawl farther into the shadows. She tried to cover her ears. She was afraid, her body shaking, and she was screaming again, crawling behind the last of the statues. They were talking too fast and trying to get the man to stop aiming at her, she could make that out. But whatever the other woman was saying was drowned out.

Ander let out another cry as more people ran into the room, making her crawl faster. More soldiers with guns ran in. She could make out the equipment slapping against their bodies, their heavy shoes slamming into the ground. They were carrying flashlights, and Ander almost lost her glasses. She heard nothing but strangers, adults filling the room. Which would be good, if, you know, one of them hadn't been trying to kill her. She crawled quickly across the rest of the floor, kicking up dust as she frantically fled. Ander was gasping for breath and her ears were on fire, her heart pounding. Her chest was breaking and her vision dimmed. She must have made too much noise, because she could hear them getting closer.

"Oh! That's great! Good idea!" Someone was louder than the rest, another woman. "Let's all freak out! That's a solution!"

"What? Did someone say _a child _was in here? In here?" a man with a strange accent shouted. "With respect, how could a kid get here? We had to blow a hole in the wall to get this far."

She almost got shot! She almost died! There was another flurry of movement and another soldier yelled out an order. Finally, Ander could make out what he was saying, the order to put the gun down. To put his weapon down. She didn't look back to see if the man finally, _finally _dropped his weapon. Ander didn't stop moving, trying to get farther away from the light source. Because_ she almost just died! _Her arms shook violently as she dragged her weight forward, trying to go faster towards the concealing darkness. Just a few more feet or so and she could find a doorway and make a break for it.

She finally reached the the back, only to her horror to find it a dead end. She let out cry that sounded like a dying animal, as the shadows of the people blurred together. No! No! This was bad, very bad! She was going to die! She looked behind her and panicked more, watching as nine people stood just a few feet away, all moving, all yelling. Not good, most definitely very not good. It was overpowering, going from being completely alone, to being surrounded. She couldn't make out what they were saying. The only thing she could hear was the beating drums in her head, the pain in her chest from earlier now unbearable.

Her eyes stung as she looked behind her, finally noticing as a blond woman took hesitant steps towards her. A strange expression was on her face. But they all started to blur together, and Ander couldn't stop her body from shaking harder and harder, her eyes _burning. _They burned! And she couldn't do anything because she almost got shot. She brought her hands up to her face, to fix her crooked glass. She did it without thinking, but her hands were shaking too much. She was lost, and she fell from gods knows where, and the zombie, the zombies! That looked just like her. And the cold, and dark, and there were statues, and and and-!

She was sobbing.

Like a baby, like someone half her age, not a ten-year-old girl. Loudly. The embarrassment from the tears, the fear of being alone, and the pain just made her cry harder. Her entire body jerked and shook with each heavy heave. Everything that had happened, all the confusion, all the pain from earlier came out at the same time and she couldn't stop it. Because she had fallen through gold! Gold! And she was covered in bruises, her muscles burned and her bones ached. It was all too much and she could feel herself losing control of her body. God, her chest hurt!

She was too scared, too tired, and afraid to care as she called for her mom, for her older brothers. She whimpered as she called for help, cried for her big sister to come get her. For someone to save her, anyone to save her. She didn't notice as someone got closer, going around the statues quickly, and she sucked in another short breath, loud sobs coming from her bruised face. She found hands on either side of her, lifting her up from her armpits. Her face was jerked up but she couldn't make out anything from her fogged glasses.

"Ander! Are you hurt?" The voice was still too fast, loud, and slightly panicked, and Ander squeezed her eyes closed. "Fitz! Ander!" She was suddenly being pulled towards the stranger, the man bringing her closer, kneeling down to look at her. She was being shaken again, though nowhere as rough. Hysterical sobs were the only sound she could make now, and Ander found herself in a tight hug.

"It's okay. It's okay." He was trying to sound calm but Ander didn't respond. "All right. It's okay, okay." She could feel the man push her face into his chest, a comforting hand on the back of her head. That was all it took, that little gesture held so much feeling. Suddenly like a switch had been flipped, Ander sagged against him, crying against this unknown man. She wanted her brother, her mom. She wanted a teacher to come and get her so she could finally get to class. The man hushed her.

"It's okay, Fitz. Okay, okay. Are you hurt? What are you doing _here_?"

"Doctor!" Someone, a woman behind them fidgeted awkwardly. "What? Who is that? There seriously is a kid down here?"

He let go of the back of Ander's head, hands moving to her face, searching for signs of injury. The man scrapped her jaw and stalled on the ugly bruise. Ander could feel the rising skin. She got it from hitting the ground earlier. Ander still couldn't see, her glasses foggy from the tears and her face red. The man reached into her hair, searching for scrapes and more bruising and Ander held still, still jerking from quick sobs. She was hyperventilating. Her legs felt wobbly from overextending her limits and the man let out a weird panicked noise as he lifting her up, sitting her down on a nearby large rock. She sat still, crying as the man checked her arms and legs over for injury.

"My god." Another military man came closer, grabbing onto his helmet in shock. He reeled around in horrified awe. "It's really a child. You almost shot a kid."

"Okay. Okay, it's okay Ander." He grabbed Ander's arms and held them out in front of her, turning them over and expecting each injury. Nothing made sense and she sobbed. Ander could feel the people moving closer, surrounding her and her body grew hot, the embarrassment from crying making her just cry harder. "Facial swelling and bruising. Slight irritation caused by radiation. I'm not surprised it hasn't affected you - deadly to everything but an angel and Ander, right? Ha!_ Wait,_ is that broken?" He rambled as he pulled at her elbow. He then went back to inspecting the rest of her.

She didn't move, she couldn't. She just continued to cry.

"All right, this is most definitely a younger version of you. You actually look smaller than I've ever seen you, which makes you _tiny._ But that's okay, because you're alive. Which is good. Very, very good." He made a face, tilting his head to the side and grimacing. "Well, I mean. Hurt but good. Good in a technical term. Actually, you look terrible. Did you get in a fight with a Sontarian again?"

A ginger came up behind them. Ander made out her light colored hair through her blurred spectacles. "Doctor, calm down. That can't be Ander." She got closer, now standing right next to them, leaning over to get a better view. "That's her daughter, right?"

"Nope, and I am calm." He waved behind him dismissively. "Are you hurt anywhere? Anything bleeding? Burning? Numb? Broken? Cut? Bruised? Can't have you kneeling over before your journey can even start."

He had a weird accent; she'd never heard it outside of the television before. He fired off his questions in rapid succession. Was he even breathing? Ander finally brought a quick finger up to her glasses, wiping away the fog and giving back her eyes. Her lips trembled dangerously, the tears unstoppable. No sooner after wiping away the fog did it appear again. She wasn't brave; her neighbor's dog scared her, standing in front of class was horrifying. This was too much, too many strangers.

"What do you mean _no_." She scowled. "You mean to tell me this kid is actually Ander? _Ander _Ander? Change the world and back for tea Ander? Kick a Dalek _Ander_?" She sounded mad, and looked behind her for support from the blond, then at the clergy. "No way. She's crying_. Sh_e's a kid."

"Yes, children do cry don't they?" The other woman spoke, a sly grin on her face. "It's her. Forced manipulation of a person's timeline. Messy business."

The man looked Ander up and down, his face going from thoughtful to panicked, back and forth really quickly. Ander couldn't stop the full body shakes, but she absentmindedly noticed the man's lopsided hair, wrinkled forehead, and tweed jacket. The man's arms went around Ander's back, checking the holes in her jacket, checking for any wounds. Ander's eyes finally began to focus on a purple bow tie. "What jump is this? When did you see me last? You're still young so you must be from a previous face right? We haven't done a lot of running yet hmm?" He brought his hands up to check her shoulders and smiled. "You're _tiny_!"

"Oh sure, 'cause that is so calm." The other woman sarcastically spoke, her Scottish accent prevalent. If it was Scottish; Ander wasn't really sure. A thought crossed the man's face briefly and he was back inspecting her.

Her body jerked as she cried out, the adult pressing down a particularly painful spot. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." He continued to speak way too fast, his accent making it almost impossible for Ander to make out what he was saying. "That's not broken though, good. Just sore. Just one more thing to check." Suddenly the man stepped back from the rock. Ander could finally see behind him, the two women closer than the rest. There were maybe six others in the room, all military looking. Then the man pulled out some sort of long device from his jacket pocket.

The man grabbed her left arm, holding it out in front, pulling up her jacket sleeve to her armpit. He bent down, bringing the arm to his face. His sort-of pen blinked green and made strange noises, and Ander forgot to fight back as she finally made out his face through the fog. The guy had strange eyes, and looked like a mix between a teenager and an adult at the same time. Another woman came around his side, a blond woman around her mom's age, bringing some sort of large box near her arm.

"Is no one going to bring up the fact that Ander - who the last time I checked was walking dynamite - has suddenly shrunk?" The ginger peered over the man's shoulder. "Anyone?"

"Amy. Not now." The first woman, the blond, looking between Ander's arm and the mans face. To her relief, Ander's crying was starting to settle down, which she was grateful for. She had never cried like that in front of anyone but her mom, and she was starting to think it would never stop. Suddenly the man brought his pen up to his face, almost crossing his eyes as he read what appeared on the side.

"Oh no. No no no. Not good." He used the pen again, quickly moving it up and down her arm, reading it again. "Very not good. Ooh, that's bad. Very bad." He froze before looking quickly at Ander. "I mean, it's not bad, no no no, it's good! Good. Good, very almost good. Nothing to worry your little head over." He grinned and gave her a quick pat on the head before frowning, noticing how Ander just continued to stare at him. It didn't convince anyone else either.

"What? What is it?" The blond woman held up a large box, scanning her arm again. Ander jerked as a green light hit her wrist, making it tingle for a second.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Actually, it's everything. Very, very bad." Ander blinked, he was talking too fast. "It's not here. I mean it should be here. But it's not. It's really not. I always knew,_ I knew, _there would be a time or two where it might not exist, but never really! But it isn't here," the man squawked, almost like he was out of breath. He scanned it again with his pen just for good measure. The blond took a step closer. He was rambling. His eyes big, like an owl's, and Ander mimicked him. What, what was it?

"What?" The curly blond woman grabbed Ander's arm as well, and she jumped, not ready for the touch. She rubbed her finger against her skin roughly, careful of the bruising. She brought her face down just as close as the mans. "You can't mean the biological modified temporal grace manipulator? You _can't_ be serious." Blondie made a face. "That's impossible. How could she be here then?"

The man ran a mad hand quickly through his hair, tugging at the strands with wide eyes. He still didn't let go of her arm, instead looking between Blondie and the girl rapidly. Ander's eyes started to sting less. The strange words didn't make sense. It was like she was back in class, lost, not understanding what the teacher was saying but staying mute out of embarrassment. Maybe she finally cried herself dry and couldn't feel anything else?

"_Doctor._ Tell me it's impossible." It was almost like she was threatening him to agree with her.

"Well," he squeaked. He roughly cleared his throat. "No. No, it isn't. I mean it is possible in a way, and one time I got close to seeing it. But not like this. And River how do you know about that? But no, it's theoretically possible. After all, there was a time in between or another where -" He froze mid rant, his eyes snapping to look back down at the girl. Ander flinched at the man's sudden intense gaze, not used to such looks.

Her lips were trembling again, a whimper building up. She wanted to go home. How she stayed quiet this long was a wonder. Her jaw clicked and she knew she was holding back more questions than she ever had. Who were these people? Where was she? What was going on, and how did this guy know her? She'd never seen him before right? Ander was never good with faces, but she was sure she would remember someone like this, someone so weird.

Suddenly the man's face changed, his eyes dark and his forehead was really wrinkled. The man caught Ander's eyes and she couldn't look away. Her glasses were still smudgy, and she could still feel the stickiness from crying. Her eyes hurt and she blinked them a few times to clear them up. Her lips trembled harder and she brought a shaking hand up to feel the bruise on her jaw again. Maybe they were the rescue party, like on the T.V? After all they looked kind of military like. Well, the ones with the guns who almost shot her did anyway.

"Doctor?" The man with the badge on his arm spoke with authority. "Do we really have time for this?" The soldier behind them stressed, looking back out into the dark tunnels. The other men were all twitchy, moving around the statues. "We have a mission to do here, sir. And with all due respect, we need to get moving."

The man still wouldn't look away, reading something on Ander's face. He let go of her arm even though the woman didn't, and he never stopped watching her face. Finally as he took a few steps away from her, Ander could blink away the last tears. She avoided looking at the woman next to him. It wasn't cool to cry in front of grownups. Bringing her hand up to rub her nose and snort loudly, Ander jumped in surprise as she felt the blond woman's hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles.

It wasn't expected, but Ander couldn't help but feel much, much better, the act of kindness finally giving her a crutch to calm down that bit more. She looked quickly up at her before shying away, noticing how she was still looking at her. She was very pretty. And Ander was not good with pretty people.

"I hate to agree with him, because I really, _really_ hate to agree with him." The red head, Amy if she could remember chimed in, getting closer to the Doctor. She crossed her arms and refused to look at her. "Ander _apparently_ shrunk. But you said there was an evil, stone, mass murdering angel running 'round-"

"Hush!" the Doctor, the name fit, snapped, holding up one hand behind him. He didn't even turn to look at the red head. She gaped at his rudeness, looking him up and down.

Ander sniffled loudly, shaken under the Doctor's stare. It was starting to sink in, her surroundings and the people, her brain finally connecting the dots in front of her. She tried to match the man's stare, her heart in her throat. Because, really, who wouldn't stare when someone of his stature looked at you? The room went quiet and a cold chill went up her spine. The blond - River - stopped rubbing her back. She didn't let go of her shoulder though, and Ander instinctively leaned back into her touch. The doctor took a large step towards her, and her legs twitched. They burned with the sudden powerful urge to make a break for it, to get away from the strangers in front of her. The Doctor turned his head slowly to the side, a shadow appearing across his features, he looked scary.

"Fitz. Ander Fitz'elton," he spoke, deliberately pronouncing every syllable of her name slowly and with authority. He was scarier than her mom, and she nodded his head automatically. He was talking in an English accent, she had heard it before. There was something different though, and the urge to run made her body tingle. She didn't feel good, and she gulped. She probably should try to run away.

Suddenly, the man was there, right next to her, and Blondie squeezed her shoulder. Was this what is was like to have a dad scold you? She had never had a dad, but for some reason this man fit so well into that category. He held more authority in this moment than her mom. She was suddenly very afraid to make this sort of person mad at her. Ander could still see the soldiers moving around, and she jerked to stare at them, nervously looking between the man and them. The one guy that spoke earlier looked highly annoyed, moving his gun to his waist.

"Ander?" His voice was low and he knelt to be at the same height as her. His face was now right next to her as he lowered down to eye level. "I know you don't want to say, you never want to mess up my timeline - but it's important. It's very important. Where did you come from?" He tilted his head. "I won't get angry. Cross my hearts. But I need to know." The man actually crossed his chest.

For a split second he reminded Ander of a predator fooling its prey, like a crocodile right under the surface of the water. All the documentaries she ever watched made sense as she stared at the man, his eyes dark but his face inviting. She was scared. She just wanted to go home. Ander gulped loudly, opening her mouth, and was slightly proud of the fact her lips only trembled once.

"_Doctor_." River, or whatever was her name was, spoke up over her shoulder, hissing out his name.

"I-I," Oh jeez, her voice cracked again. A shiver went up her back and made the hairs on her neck stand up. "I don't understand Sir." she whispered shakily, trying to keep eye contact. But it was hard, she was really scared. "What, what do you mean?" The man frowned; somehow something she did seemed to bother him. Now, now he was frowning.

"No, no no. That's not what you're supposed to say?" He made a face. "Sir? Blah! That's _horrible,_ do I look like a sir?" He pushed out his chin, feeling his jawline. "It's the chin isn't it? It's always the chin!" Like he had split personalities, the man shot forward again, all jokes gone. The little girl leaned back, and Ander could feel her heart pound in her head. Her throat got tight again and she let out a shaky breath. She felt her face grow hot and she tried not to blink. To keep the moisture in her eyes back. The man moved from eye to eye, searching for something in Ander.

"Do you know this face?" The way he said it, she couldn't understand it. "Who, which one did you see last?" He stressed the word, straining every syllable. Ander found her mouth going dry. She nodded quickly, of course she knew his face, he was famous. He was all over the television, he even won some awards. But then she actually thought about what he asked.

She frowned, shaking her head quickly. She wasn't going to speak anymore, she wouldn't cry in front of them anymore.

"Doctor?" The ginger behind them spoke up; she was worried about something.

"Not now Amy." The Doctor and River spoke at the same time, startling everyone and themselves. Their voices were clipped, and sounded agitated again. River still held onto her shoulder. The blond tilted her head to the side, getting at where the Doctor was going. The Doctor's eyes flickered up at her in annoyance.

"Doctor, it isn't?" She hesitatingly asked, and the Doctor turned towards her slowly. She looked at him in denial. Until the same thought crossed between them, then she groaned.

"Is it? Oh, you've got to be kidding me." They continued to stare, a second silent message going between them. "She is isn't she?!" He grimaced, turning back to Ander.

"What?" Amy looked between them as they ignored her. "What is it? This chubby little kid isn't her. It just isn't."

"It is. It's complicated." He snapped behind him. "Have you finished with Martha? Have you meet Donna, or Amy? Clever girl, this Amy. What about me, the other me, with the hair and grin? Cranky me? Cocky me, have we done that yet? Celery man? " He was rambling again a mile a minute, firing off his questions too quickly to be followed. Then, the man went stiff, and he suddenly looked afraid. His face twisted into a sneer. "Have you met _him_?" He was speaking as though Ander didn't understand what he was saying.

Ander blinked, slowly replaying what he asked in her head. Maybe she didn't understand.

Met. Met? Met who? No, she knew this man's face, and even though the name was on the tip of her tongue, Ander could feel her mouth turn to rubber. She knew what that constant buzzing in her head meant from earlier and she hesitated. She was not going to cry. She wasn't. She looked at the man for a while, trying to figure out the right answer. Know him? Met him, know who _he_ was? Yes, she knew his name. But it was wrong, because even though she knew his name and seen him a thousand times. it was not in person. So that was probably the wrong answer.

He wasn't acting. This place was too dark and full of statues. There weren't any cameras, she would have noticed already. This wasn't a set, it just wasn't. It was too big. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her lips moved but all she did was squeak like a mouse. Matt Smith was the wrong answer, but it couldn't be the wrong answer. No, no. No. Characters in books were not real. Characters on the television were just pretend. This was, this was -

"Doctor," she croaked, shaking. Her voice was quivering, her body vibrating. "You're the Doctor." She pushed her glasses up again on reflex. "But, but. Y-you-you're not..." She stumbled over her own tongue, turning to stare wide-eyed up at the impossible woman next to her. "Real?"

The Doctor slowly smiled, his face lighting up more and more as she spoke. He was beaming at her. The Doctor.

"Yep." His grin was too wide, too happy, his eyes all but sparkled. Ander looked around her again, waiting for someone to tell her she was wrong. _The Doctor _took a step back, his face becoming unreadable. He made a show of putting his _sonic screwdriver_ back into his pocket slowly before spinning in place to look at _Amelia Pond. _

_The Doctor._

"_You're the Doctor_?" Ander's voice sounded weird and loud, hysterical, like she was talking through water. Her ears were muddled. Her body was on fire and she could feel each beat of her heart. It was all she could hear, her blood pounding against her eardrums. "_The Doctor._"

"It is!" River took her hand off Ander's back and swore under her breath. "_Oh _lovely." River Song ran a quick hand through her never ending hair, yanking it out of the hair band. "This is the first time you've met him. This is your first time. Of all the trips! One of the angels!" She threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Yep! Ha!" The Doctor chuckled loudly, spinning around to look at the clergy. Amy scoffed, still not quite getting it. "An angel!" The way he said it, it was as if this was the greatest news to ever exist. "Oh you wonderful, amazingly _improbable_ girl! One of the angels! Our first meeting, ha!"

Ander stared at the spot the Doctor was in, completely shocked. She was in shock, her heart was going to stop. _The Doctor._ Not Matt Smith? Not a screen play? No. No, no no. That was the Doctor. _The Doctor._ The show she watched on the weekends before bed? Who she sneaked and stayed up all night to watch twenty episodes on her bed? Who she bought music for, the series in which she waited for new episode every week, who she liked very much?

That show? That Doctor?

The Doctor _Doctor_?

* * *

AUTHOR NOTES:

Hmm, so it took me at least a week to figure out what gender Ander was going to be. Which when said like that doesn't sound too bad. Everyone has trouble developing a character, not just me. How bad could that be?

It was terrible.

I literally made six different versions of this character, deleted entire scripts of future chapters, shed a few tears and tore out some hair, and finally wrote three different versions of the same events with each version. They all had different reactions to what happens, all had differing dialogue and conversations, and came to different conclusions in the end. They had differing personalities, differing appearances, different upbringings, hell they were completely different stories! In the end, three out of six won out.

So yeah, that was the obituary report on the five lost main characters. May they rest in pieces in the unfinished fan fiction idea heaven. Hmm, I might be slightly insane- a perfectionist. Not good.

Ander: "Not as bad as the last chapter. Still pretty bad though."

You want to get hit don't you. You want me to hit you.

Ander sighs: "Well, you did do _something _right by choosing me. You have to start somewhere I guess."

Oh, I get it. You don't want me to hit you. No, that's not right. My mistake. Sorry. _You want me to bludgeon you to death with a hammer. _

Ander runs: "Eep!"

That's right, run! Run! Now, onwards to chapter two!

Review please.


	3. Falling Into Inevitability

Author note: Oh my God. Holy Molly Mongrel Tommy! I found a Beta! A wonderful Beta! What? Wait a dang minute? I found two? Two amazing people who will put up with me? Great Scott Batman, this is just fantastic! Thank you my lovely funny and wonderful **Stormrose Dewleaf**, and to the most awesome amazingly cool **KimotoCat** for helping me with English grammar, getting my thoughts together, and keeping me in line. I love you! Wheeeeeee!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Never ever, unfortunately speaking for myself of course. That means I hold no rights to, nor do I accept trade nor money for any of my writing, on any site. It is simply for personal amusement and to pass time. I receive no physical compensation of any kind. Any franchises I use belong to their rightful owners- if I decide to use more than one franchise - and of course BBC Corporation Copyright.

Summary: It wasn't right, nor was it fair. He was being needlessly cruel to a woman she has never met, that he didn't know. But it still wasn't _right._ What had she done to receive such actions, when she had been nothing but kind? Ander watched, she understood, but that didn't mean she would agree with the Doctor's every decision. A script was a script, a play was just acting. This was reality. She was a child yes, but she was not cruel.

* * *

Unchangeable moments in time appear, which are conveniently called fixed points. They occurs in certain junctures of time throughout individual moments. Infinite time lapses in non-linear loops, twin paradox in reactive time, and as they occur they happen in both past and present space. Some moments are fixed, some are not. Written in _stone,_ completely unchangeable moments, and seen throughout history.

When travellers jump through time they create frayed lines, splinters in the space-time continuum. Creating scars. The tissues of reality warp, creating opposing parallel actions to compensate the damage. This thus creates parallel timeliness. Alternate realities that never touch but sit side by side.

The fundamental reason alternate opposing realities cannot interact with each other is their differing fixed points. When moments that do happen in one universe influence moments that can't happen in another, holes appear. When opposing alternate realities are forced to mingle they try to continue to move forward as they would have normally done. When this happens, the two different universes intersect and boil.

Time and space falls apart and changes into something different. Time rewritten, as everything starts again while never ending. Entire courses of history turn to nothing, into dust. A ripple in the remaining pieces of existence turn into a storm. Moments that must happen, which can not be stopped, never occurring. Time and space splintering faster, deeper, as more and more impossible occurrences start to appear. Space-time goes brittle, infinite loops collapsing onto themselves, paradox after twin paradox failing to reach continuations.

These two different opposing universes were mingling, and they were becoming something new.

Fixed points were starting to burn.

* * *

Chapter Two: Falling Into Inevitability

Ander, to all of her ten years of life and wisdom, could do nothing but stare at the Doctor.

This was the man who saved her? Who stood in this unbelievable cave, who didn't disappear before her eyes like he should. He held firm, as realistic as the ground upon which he stood. His playful tweed jacket, with his somehow colorfully appropriate bow tie, and his hair disheveled. This mysterious man who could change his face and personality while cheating death, who wiped the dirt off his sleeve so nonchalantly. He didn't disappear.

She could remember the songs that were composed in his imaginary image, stories upon stories were written to his fancy. This mysterious man and his blue box. _He wasn't disappearing. _He stood unquestionably real in front of her to all of his infamy and grand glory. That Doctor.

That impossible Doctor?

Oh no, no no no. _That's impossible._

Her gut twisted and Ander felt sick. That wasn't right, that wasn't happening. Her fingers dug painfully into the rock underneath her, her lips turning gray as she forgot to breathe. Her heart hurt and she trembled. The Doctor_, _not Matt Smith, not an actor in a show, not pretending in something not real? That was the Doctor. _The Doctor. _The show she watched on the weekends before bedtime? Who she stayed up all night and tried to watched a dozen episodes at a time under her covers? Who she bought music for, the series in which she waited for new episodes every weekend, who she enjoyed very much? No, couldn't be.

No.

"Now! Back to business!" The Doctor slapped his hands together, a grin threatening to rip his face in two. But there was something about it, even though he looked happy, his eyes weren't kind, "_You. Talk._" he pointed at the soldier who almost shot Ander, his tone nonnegotiable.

Ander watched frozen, as the _Doctor _took measured steps towards another impossible person.

"I'm sorry, Sir," the young man fidgeted, his back to the wall as he tried to talk quickly, to diffuse the looks he was receiving from around the room, "I thought - I thought it was a statue moving. I didn't expect her though Sir. I - I -." he glanced between the Doctor, Amy, and River in shame.

"I panicked, sorry Sir."

"We know what an Angel looks like," Octavian stepped towards his team member and the boy could only stare at his reverend in repentance, "Is _that_ the Angel?" the reverend pointed behind him, towards Ander without looking. She jumped in surprise, sliding slightly off the rock. Everything was too much, every sound, every move around her was too much stimulation. It was the first time all the soldiers looked at her at once, and by all means it wasn't helping.

River chuckled dryly as he tried to apologize again, putting a heavy hand on Ander's head as she shook. She tried to smile down at the girl gently, running calming fingers through her curls. Ander's glasses slid completely down her cheeks before she quickly pushed them back up her nose, River's fingers rubbing away the headache she didn't know she had.

Then she noticed the two men by the door who still wouldn't turn away, studying her intently. When she made eye contact with them, her hand automatically jerked up to grab River's that rested on her head. Before she could stop it, her fingers tightening around the woman's rough palm. She looked at her own appendage in horror.

Ander was ready to cry when she saw her fingers intertwined with hers. Oh no, she touched one of them, purposely. Oh, no, not good, very not at all good. She wanted to get away again, hide under a rock? Ander looked up at River, not able to pull her frozen arm back. She held onto the appendage in a death grip, unsure wither she should apologize or simply run.

What could she do? Where could she go? After all, this was _River Song's _hand she was holding, in a cave. But she needed to run, to fall off a cliff.

"No, Sir," the cleric replied weakly, shifting his gun. His reply brought Ander out of her musing, bringing her back to the now.

"No. Sir, it is _not,_" Octavian shot back, the military man of God clenched his teeth, "According to the Doctor we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good…it would be _very_ good if we could all remain calm in the presence of each other, decor_, and children_."

The Doctor moved closer, bringing his hand through his hair again. He was trying to collect himself and he sharply tugged on his collar. Ander didn't know what to do anymore, they were just so real and so was this cave, and she didn't just disappear.

River was thinking hard. She watched Ander in the corner of her eyes, taking note of how her eyes never stopped darting around the room, her posture completely stiff as she made herself as small as possible. Her face was pale and she was taking shallow breaths. River knew what she had to do, and her eyes softened.

Ander noticed River's change when she moved to stand in front of her, blocking out everyone else. She could feel the bile get stuck in her throat as she noticed her look, the way her eyes softened, how she relaxed her shoulders. An almost soft smile graced the woman's features, a complete contrasts of the character Ander was familiar with.

No, no thank you. This was not happening. She didn't fall through gold, she wasn't here. She just hit her head on the way to the beach. There weren't any zombies, or weird caves, and there most definitely weren't any real aliens. She just had a concussion and she was dreaming. At that thought, River practically dragged her into her arms, off of the rock she had sat on.

"Right, come'er you!" Her voice was so very inappropriate for the moment Ander was having, her tone so lighthearted and cheerful. She grinned down at Ander with eyes that should be illegal.

Her brain couldn't process the fact she was in the embrace of _River Song, _a fictional character. It was so very wrong. She forgot to put up a fight as Amy came around the side, and for a moment they made eye contact. She automatically ducked back into River's arms without thought, her body just wasn't listening. She should not be hugging River Song, an alien. A fictional character. Even if the woman was just acting, she had no place in the arms of a pretty actress.

However, somewhere along this line, her body decided it had enough of fighting, of running for its life for the past few hours. It just give up and went with the flow, her head falling limply against her stomach. Her mind vibrated along with her body, and before she could stop she was shivering in River's arms. Clinging to her jacket as she buried her face in her stomach.

Jeez, what was she doing? Was she just going to throw out all those lessons about "stranger danger" that were jammed into her skull by adults? Just like that? One little cry and a couple of bruises and that's all it took? One beautiful actress?

The two of them slowly made their way around the statues, away from the dead-end Ander had crawled into. River kept a tight hold on her as they came closer to the group, a hand on the back of her head, ruffling her hair in a slow comforting gesture. The other on her back pressing her firmly against her front. River's pace, though slow her legs were twice as long as Ander's, and she half dragged the child with her. They walked around the statues, until they stood right outside the group. Amy came around them while folding her arms, standing behind the Doctor.

Ander didn't see anything anymore, but she could remember. She could still see the scene behind her eyelids, the episode suddenly appearing in great detail in her mind. She could hear the Doctor walk off towards the army men, remember how he paced before telling the next man off. Ander could imagine Amy pulling a pout like she always did. Just like the original scene.

This wasn't funny. If this was a prank, it was mean and the kids that bullied her needed to stop. She wasn't crazy, she wasn't? River had stared back at her when she looked up briefly. The River Song! Impossible!

Ander felt a whimper surface as she continued to feel the warmth of the woman around her. An alien, she was hugging an imaginary alien. River was taller than her mom, bigger too, and as Ander buried her face harder into her stomach. For being a fictional character, River's hugs were exceptional.

"What's your name?" The Doctor's voice was cold, and he was angry. His smile falter for a moment, and the alien huffed, trying to fix his hair again from the mess it had become. The cleric who was asked turned to him with wide eyes.

"Bob. Sir," Bob replied, still shaking slightly. The Doctor stared coldly, before grinning.

He looked behind him at River, flicking his sight down to look at the little girl in her arms before turning back. Ander listened intently to their dialogue, just like the show, word for word. She tried to gulp, to clear her throat that had gone tight. It was almost exactly like the script. Which it couldn't be because things you saw on the television aren't real, unless they're on the educational channels. This show was not on one of those channels.

"Oh, that's a _great_ name!" The Doctor finally give his signature smiled. Even though his pearly whites were showing, his eyes was rough and on edge, "I love a Bob." he looked down at the gun Bob was holding, conniving and planned.

Ander still couldn't get it. If this was the Doctor, and that was Sacred Bob, then what was going on? She stood still in River's arms and listened as the Doctor made his way closer to the man. Amy Pond raised an eyebrow and watched his little show. That was _the Doctor._ Her eyes stung again, and her breathing came out in shorter takes. Ander shivered into River's military jacket, her body going cold as a tingle went down her spine.

"It's a sacred name," Octavian explains, raising his chin, "We all have sacred names. They're given to us in the service of the church."

The Doctor turned to look at him, not someone who liked to be interrupted. His eyes still dark, and even though he was trying his damnedest to smile, Octavian knew what an angry man looked like. It seemed the Doctor could acknowledge Bob's faults, and Octavian noticed how the Doctor was standing between Bob and the child. It seemed the man was terrible at hiding his emotions, and the reverend could only wonder what might have happened to the man had he actually shot the child.

"Alright then, Sacred Bob," The Doctor grinned sharply, Turning away from Octavian, he looked at the almost boy, "More like _scared_ Bob now, eh?"

Octavian gave a quick disapproving scowl as he glared at the Doctor through the corner of his eye. He did almost shoot a child out of fear, and by such his actions were unbecoming of his services and stature. However, it was another to disrespect a member of the Clergy the way the Doctor was. The cleric nodded slowly, looking nervously between his Reverend and the Doctor.

"Yes, Sir."

"Ah, good," The Doctor nodded as well, patting the boy's arm with a little laugh, catching both man off guard. As Octavian looked at the Doctor in surprise, his grin almost split his face as he met Bob's gaze.

"Scared keeps you fast _Scared Bob_. Anyone who _isn't_ scared in this room is a moron." he looked pointedly at Octavian before patting both men on their shoulders with a hit that was a heavier than normal. The Reverend scoffed, did the Doctor think so little of his men?

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes," Octavian looked at Bob, the man who almost dirtied their unit's name. Such dishonor was uncalled for, but as long as he was clean there was no reason to take him off the mission, "You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach."

Bob lowered his head, nodding in embarrassment and acceptance. It would be for the best if Bob left the main group for now. He was too jumpy, too compromised. Octavian frowned and tipped his helmet to signal the end of conversation. He gave his order for his other men with a raised hand. They were clergy of god, there would be nothing to fear with the power of religion. One scared man's mistake did not represent his entire platoon.

* * *

Ander was shuffled forward by River, awkwardly walking step by step with her backwards. She didn't want to let go. The Doctor was right when he told off Sacred Bob. She nodded fearfully against River's jacket as they moved back into the Catacombs as a group. Everyone _should be_ scared.

If this was real, this was Doctor Who. The television series where in every episode there was disasters and chaos that needed to be dealt with. In Doctor Who, there was the Doctor, there were his companions, and there were monsters. Very real monsters. She could hear the group shuffle around her. The cave was still cold and damp and dark. River Song was still holding her, and Amy was still standing right beside them. The walked through the tunnels, and up into the never ending staircases.

She wanted to speak up, to break away from them and run, to run out the hole they created when they blew into the catacombs. Her throat went dry, and she accidentally bit into her cheek. She knew she couldn't turn around, there was no way she could escape. She had to say something, she had to speak up and make this not real anymore. _She had to._ She was in a cave full of broken statues. Every single statue was looking at them.

She punched one! And no one knew but her. They were in the Catacombs, and this was Doctor Who.

Everything was sinking in too quickly, too much information. She glanced around her frantically as they resumed walking through the tunnels.

She dug her fingers painfully into Rivers sides, clinching the jacket tightly. She wasn't sure if she was breathing, and she didn't fix her glasses as they slid down her nose. In a way, not being able to see anymore was helping her cope. The others walked around them, creating a protective bubble, guns out front. They continued to walk around the broken figures, but no one other than her would give them second glances.

She looked to her right - there were statues. On her left were statues. She looked up as far as she could - on the caves walls, on higher perches - were statues. Behind, in front of them, surrounding them.

_They were all angels. Every single last one of them._

This was not real. She hit her head hard. Maybe it was because she was in the cave so long, so very alone and so painfully confused. That might be it, why she refused to let go of the woman she was hugging. There had been too much pain and she was so very, very lost. She couldn't be alone anymore. She never let go of River and she never opened her eyes. If a person didn't look at anything, if they didn't hear anything, if they are no way a part of anything - then it has nothing to do with them. She liked that way of thinking, and it most definitely applied here, to this crazy situation. A mindset that applied to walking in a cave full of monsters.

River walked with her arms wrapped around her, pressing her tightly against her front. Once in awhile she would pat her head, or run her fingers through her hair trying to untangle it and help her racing heart. It was such a soothing motion, so similar to a mother comforting their child that she really couldn't fight. Her childish instincts made it impossible to deny someone so protective. Ander was all but walking on top of the woman's feet, using the top of River's boots as purchase so she wouldn't have to touch the ground. When River took a step, so did she, and they continued their peculiar tango. Ander was glued to her, her body pressed so tight that when River tried to reposition Ander's arms they both almost fell over.

River didn't complain and neither did the Doctor, nor Amy. For the most part they travelled in silence. Amy would continue to mess around with her futuristic flashlight before striking up conversation with whomever was nearest to her. Then the Doctor would poke at old ruins here and there, muttering about something. River would be humming under her breath for Ander, and laugh at whatever it was Doctor and Amy were on about.

The rest of the group were too busy looking for the Angel, trying to sneak around corners and staying mostly out of sight as they scouted ahead. It was quiet, and slightly tense on the nonmilitary subgroup. It would have been nice, if it wasn't so eerie. She refused to look, but she could feel eyes on her, someone upfront was burning holes into the back of her head. She wasn't sure if it was a soldier, or if it wasn't the Doctor. Though, she could hear him out front whistling under his breath and tapping a four beat rhythm on his flashlight.

It was like no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't block out the Doctor. He knew her. He called her by name, by her _family_ name. She was a kid and he was a grownup and she didn't know what to do. She was surrounded by adults, and it was like all three of them were used to her. As if she had already done this with them before, like all four of them knew her. Instead of repositioning her glasses, Ander just let them fall, feeling the spectacles slide down her nose. They couldn't know her, she'd never meet them. This was not Doctor Who. It just wasn't, it isn't.

What was about to happen wouldn't, it wasn't real. Amy was not going to bring up the Aplans, they were not going to notice they were standing in a cave surrounded by angels. Why was she still walking with them? She should run.

Should she say something? Should she ask before they did, tell them so they wouldn't have to go through it themselves? Would she get in trouble? She kept her eyes firmly shut and she didn't move her arms. She paid attention to the people around her as they walked up a hill. River's feet heavy as she walked up every step, the child dead weight against her. Why was she being so nice, any other adult would have pried her off by now? Why was River close to her?

Every thought, every question, she had created a dozen more. Ander couldn't keep up with all the information swirling inside her head. Would everything happen in the end like it already had? Would everything get worse?

Amy took the steps two at the time, using the rocks for leverage. She looked up, walking behind the pair where she had kept quiet since they started moving again, "Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse?" she pointed above her, looking worriedly at the ceiling, than at the almost professor River Song. She looked around her, looking for damage, and shivered. She rubbed her skin, "There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans," River grinned, twirling a finger through the air. She gave Ander's head a quick rub.

"Something like a ship crashing into their tomb's tiny! Well, tiny compared to their complex architect. Lovely race as well." The Doctor brought a hand up and knocked the nearest wall, tapping away at his flashlight. He continued to ignore the men around him, giving his full attention to his companion. It seemed he was not going to be out-shined by River Song, future archaeologist. The nerve of it all.

Ander let out a heavy and shaky breath. She knew this conversation. it sounded almost the same as the one she heard years ago, in her room as she watched television. She was a real baby back then, only about five years old, but she could remember episodes even back before that. She learned how to use the Internet just to watch more, and even quoted the show at the diner table. Her older brother even called her a baby Whovian once. She finally had the courage to look out, just for a second.

He was ahead of them, like she thought. He was trying to look bored, but he looked just like the Doctor she knew in later seasons. Collected on the outside, a raging cold fire right under the surface. The mean old man so lonely in a blue box. His eyes burned holes in the air as he walked, the smile he had wasn't real. She ducked her head back under an arm when he turned his body towards their direction. He looked strange walking in the middle of military men, guns only inches from his person.

"Had dinner with their chief architect once," The Doctor nonchalantly looked around, still twirling his flashlight. He grinned back at his girls, moving his head back and forth in emphasis, "Two heads are better than one."

"You mean you helped him?" Amy blinked and folded her arms in confusion. What was he doing? Was there something wrong with his neck? She looked at River, not getting it.

This was happening. Ander twisted her next to look around River's back, back into the dark with her eyes wide. This was happening. The show was playing out right now in front of her. She watched as the story continued, as everything started.

"_No_, I m-e-a-n he had _two_ heads." The Doctor scoffed, turning around and playfully appalled that Amy didn't get it. They walked around another tunnel, the clergy pointing around the blind corner before moving forward, every step calculated. The Time Lord looked strange, now relaxed with his flashlight held limply. He still didn't acknowledge the military as they gave orders, the guns, or even the atmosphere of the group. It was as if they held no meaning to him, as if they weren't there.

Ander watched the Doctor's back through river's hand as he hesitated, stopping with one foot still hovering in the air. She couldn't see his face, but she could imagine what a thousand thoughts flashing through his eyes might look like.

"...That book, the very end, what did it say?" he didn't turn around, already full aware that River knew what he was talking about. River sighed, fidgeting slightly.

"Hang on," she tried to move Ander around as gently as possible. She just needed to get one arm into her bag so she could get her book from her pack at her side. But the girl held strong, refusing to let go of her.

"Hold on just a sec puppy," she all but cooed at Ander when she looked up at her. The betrayal of being pulled off River's waist was clear, and for a moment it looked like River would cave and put her back. Ander whined, clawing at River's jacket sleeves as she was removed from her persons. She was using that, and she would like it if River would not remove her from her hiding place, thank you.

River opened her bag quickly, taking the book out and turning to the last page. She used her spare hand to pat Ander's head in reassurance as she pushed her back a bit more, walking both of them forward with the group. Though River detached her, she did give her comfort by keeping her hand on her shoulder.

The Doctor tapped away on the side of his flashlight and Ander spared him a glance, "The ending. Read it to me." his voice is commanding and blank, hiding away his thoughts. Ander could feel her adrenalin start, her hand and feet going warm. It really was starting and she wondered if this was her chance.

Ander walked awkwardly, standing right in the middle of the group. She couldn't stop herself from looking ahead, accidentally making eye contact with the Doctor who was looking back. She quickly looked down at the ground. No, no thank you. She was not ready to look at that man. No, she was alright with ignoring how that was the Doctor. Completely content with ignoring him like the mean girls on the school bus who would poke her with pencils. She had other things to worry about, like the group of angels that were standing a few feet away.

Or how River Song just called her _puppy? _That sounded strange, especially coming from someone as witty as River. She looked around her, finally since reentering the Catacombs.

Oh jeez, could they walk _any closer_ to the group of statues on their left? It was a part of the tombs she didn't make it to. It was still the same tunnels and corridors as the rest, but the staircase was making their hike more physically outgoing. She tried not to make eye contact with any of the statues next to her. They would figure it out, they did once on the television and they would do it here, now, in front of her.

The Doctor was agitated at something again, looking quickly between Ander and his surroundings. She knew he was close to figuring it all out. She should say something right now, get it over with. She could couldn't she? Tell them the truth?

However, just like before, her mouth wouldn't move, and her jaw loose and unhinged. It was like it turned to rubber. She never spoke up in class, she was a push over. How was she supposed to say something around commanding adults, when she couldn't defend herself against her older brothers? What was she supposed to be, an all knowing prophet? Ander opened her mouth one more time, turning to the Doctor. She guessed she would have to be quick.

"What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us?" River ran over the words quickly as she spoke them. "When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels."

The Doctor finally broke his staring contest with the air, too busy thinking to keep his eyes in one place. Ander watched in silent horror, the Doctor went through another thousand thoughts in mere seconds. She had missed her chance, and again she lost her nerve. The child continued to watch through crooked lenses, unable to stop noticing just how _real _everything was. It was one thing to watch an actor portray a genius, another to see it with her own eyes.

To say she was star struck would be an understatement.

She repositioned her glasses and took a deep breath. It was her nervous tic, and at the sight River gave a flash of a grin. It was starting and she wasn't ready to come to terms yet. Her glasses kept sliding down her nose, she was sweating she guessed. A shiver went up her spine as they continued walking, the Doctor walking even faster.

Ander wasn't sure what they were accepting of her, what she was supposed to do, but most likely they wanted her to say something. Why else would she be here for? She was jerked closer to River, holding onto her hand for security. She wasn't ready to give up her living security blanket as her mind went a mile a minute. River wouldn't let her back into her lap, but it seemed she was alright with keeping a handle on her.

Now that she was looking she couldn't stop, her eyes flickered to stare at every statue, every rock, every corridor. She was suddenly thinking too quickly, panic and adrenalin making her stumble. There was a large boulder to the right with a blind corner, if she looked behind her to the left there was a sheer drop too high to survive if they fell. Behind them where they came, _if they just looked, _there was no way back, all the statues were looking in their direction. They were going to notice soon. The doctor was going to notice, and her mind raced faster.

She already remembered what Amy was going to say. Where the story was going, and what happened at the ending of this episode's chapter. What was she supposed to do? Amy was going to say what she was supposed to say -

* * *

The cave was dark and he slapped his fluctuating flashlight. Of all the times to start to act up?

The walls were tall and smooth like the rest of the catacombs. Each corridor was long and forbidding, jagged rocks sticking up in odd angels and the floor uneven and bumpy. The solider walked slowly, each step deliberate and careful. He had made enough of a fool of himself today, so he was not going to trip over his own feet. He should have brought an extra miniature gravity globe. He walking alone, he still had not caught up to the reconnaissance team. It was horrifying, there was a constant sound of rocks settling, water dripping, and Bob slapped his flashlight harder. Work, work already.

Bob brought a shaky hand up to his face, the radio clenched tightly in his fingers. He gulped, looking again both ways, and he walked nervously around another corner, _"_Hey, Angelo?" he looks behind him, whispering into the radio. He spun to look behind him as more rocks settle.

"Christian? _Where are you_?" As Bob spoke, he took the upcoming left, nervously pointing his gun into it first.

It wasn't the right direction, his back to the tunnels to the right. Had he continued to go straight he would have seen the bodies of Angelo and Christian, their necks twisted in odd angles. They were sloppily hidden behind some rocks, their bodies disposed callously. Angelo's flashlight lay a few feet away from him, blinking off and on against the floor.

Off the light, there was a shadow. A shadow of an Angel.

* * *

Amy groaned, each step slightly painful. "Are we there yet?" she looked up at the steeping hillside, glaring at the never-ending steps, "It's a killer of a climb."

Ander followed her gaze, nervously trying not to make eye contact with the faceless statues. Which was difficult, seeing how they didn't really have eyes. The steps were wooden and decayed, and though they were closer to the top, it was still a long ways away. Yes, yes this was a climb. She was already out of breath, River half dragging her along. It seemed she was being reminded of her physical condition, even here in this impossible situation she was still chubby and slow. She repositioned her glasses, subconsciously trying to dust off the dirt on her jacket. She was a mess, and she was cold.

River gave Amy a dazzling smile. She forgot how snappish the red head was young. Nothing like the grown woman of River's past. Well, almost. She tugged Ander onto the next step.

"The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul," River held up two fingers with her empty hand, the other had Ander in an iron grip,"Only two levels to go."

She looked behind her at Ander, grinning slyly as she tugged her forward again, "Do keep up puppy!"

The doctor turned around, making a show of being able to walk up stairs backwards. "Lovely species, the Aplans." The Doctor ginned, shinning his light in random directions,"We should visit them some time. You would like their spring drinks Ander, deliciously fermented!"

He paused, turning away from them again, "Oh, and _River?" _The Doctor stared down at the blond,_ "S_top calling her weird things." Ander flinched, squeezing River's hand. She looked at the indescribable man as she forgot to respond, so shocked as he seemed to notice her again.

"Well. I would call it spoilers. _But..,_" River trailed off, her face going sly as she returned the Doctor look. He frowned for a moment before schooling his features, hiding something. He didn't seem to care for Ander's obvious discomfort at the tension growing between the two adults. He just put on a tiny, quirky smile and turned around.

It was really weird when the three of them spoke.

It was almost like he forgot Ander was there at times, only remembering when he caught sight of her again. For the most part Ander was sure he was trying to ignore her. She wasn't sure if he liked her or not, his behaviour now was so very strange. Even with his attitude from earlier, him worrying about her and hugging her - it was like that didn't happen at all. She started getting the feeling that she was in the same class as River. Whatever group that was. Whenever he looked their way his back would go stiff, and he would make sure to numb his facial features. He sure as hell did not want River to know what he was thinking when they spoke.

Even though Ander could not accept that he was really the Doctor, she couldn't stop the memories of the series coming into context in her mind. He was avoiding both River and her just like he did in 'The Library", or how he acted somewhat in "Lets Kill Hitler" in his future, or even his way of avoiding by running while he was in his tenth regeneration. The way he wrinkled and knit his eyebrows was a clear sign of his discomfort.

Well, at least it wasn't his cold anger, the kind that ended in disaster or destruction in those who opposed him. That was good. Ander shook her head and readjusted her glasses.

No, he couldn't be avoiding her, because he wasn't real. This could not be happening. She hit her head or something. It didn't matter that he was right in front of her, or if she could read him like an open book. There wasn't any books here to read. He wasn't real, everything she knew about him was fake. What she believed he was doing was wrong. She couldn't base him off past or future events, these events _never _happened! She just finished a book about slaying dragons, it didn't mean she knew how to do that. What was she doing?

Why was she walking around with imaginary characters? Playing along in their story book. This was crazy. Her brothers and sister would make fun of her. Her mom would ground her for sure.

She should not feel giddy for his attention, she should not feel the warmth of idealization in her chest or the hero-worship that tingled her cheeks. She was not going to _visit anyone, or drink anything._ She wouldn't. They shouldn't go there. That was a terrible idea with terrible consequences, just plain terrible terribleness. When they figured out that was an angel standing no more than a few inches away from the Doctor's shoulder, they would agree. She was heaved up the next set of steps, tripping over her shoes again. Ander squawked, tumbling into River's side.

"Visit the Aplans? I thought they were all dead?" Amy looked at him funny, he really did not like River did he? She kept looking between River and the Doctor, trying to figure out his sour mood. Maybe, marriage problems?

"_Time travel!_" River sing-songed, wiggling her eyebrows.

Ander wanted to go home as they continued. She wanted to find the pause button and freeze everything like it was on a remote. For the Doctor and River to stop talking. They were smart, incredible so. They were mere seconds away from coming to the conclusion. Her fear was making her forget how everything went, how the episode goes. She should say something now. Right now. She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

She squeezed River's hand as hard as she could. She could do this she could, she just had to say one sentence. That's it. Just one! Just one sentence and she could change everything, the entire story. This wasn't class, this wasn't a bully making fun of her. This was very serious and she had to talk. Her jaw trembled terribly, her teeth chattering. Right now, she had to, it was important, and she needed to. Just say,_ 'All of the statues are angels'. _That would be it, just six words, that's all! That was it_, and dang it why wasn't her mouth moving!?_

"So's Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team," The Doctor ignored River's comments, continuing up the stairs with his shoulders stiff,"Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. That's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

They were going to say something. The something that starts all of it. They were going to figure it out. _She was losing her chance._ She was going to miss it, and it was going to go to hell now. Here she was, in the middle of everything, in the middle of a cave full of angels, and she was just _standing around. _Ander, in all of her ten wonderful years of life, finally freaked out enough to move.

_Why was it all the same? Every scene, every sentence. Like a book?_

Ander tore her hand out of Rivers, making her jump and spin around. Ander must have had a strange look on her face, her eyes wide, her glasses crooked and clothes unkempt. She was terrified and she was shaking. She couldn't do anything as River searched her face, her arms stiff and her tongue-tied in loops. The shot of adrenaline and panic which was enough to let her push herself away, as soon than she found it, it was gone. Her knees locked, her heart pounding just like it did at the dead end as she was face to face with a gun.

Was she giving it away? Just how bad the situation was? Of course she was, she probably looked like she just saw a ghost. She tried not to dry heave as River tilted her head to the side, her face taking on a predator like gaze. It was like looking at a monster in the dim lighting, the cave and stones surrounding them. And River watched her every move, every panicked thought that went through her eyes. They stared each other down, the atmosphere around them thick as River read her every emotion, and Ander tried to bolt.

River's 'training_' _kicked in.

Ander tried to loosen her jaw with a painful gulp, her throat going tight. Ander knew what was literally around the corner, she did. And now River did too at some extent. Before she could stop her River snapped forward, grabbing her hand again and tugging her back to her side forcefully. Her lips were tight, her face tight without expression.

Alright then, guess she wasn't moving. Don't let go of the grownup's hand, and no snatching it away. It was not allowed, got it. River pursed her lips into a tight frown as she turned towards the Doctor, all but yanking the two of them closer to the man.

"Doctor, there's something?" River spoke coldly, loosening her body for a fight, "I don't know what it is?" She touched her hip, where a gun should have been. It was such a shame criminals weren't allowed to carry weapons. "But Ander's doing _the look_. Never good that look."

The Doctor turned around, avoiding looking directly at River as he hummed in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, well, this is new for her. Not surprising," The Doctor looked down at the girl quickly, before cringing,"Ooh. That _is_ a look. Ander with the same old bluff."

He spun around, looking around the room for anything in particular. "Yeah, something wrong, really wrong. And she's not going to tell us," He walked a little faster, taking two steps at a time, "Don't know what it is yet either, working on it. Anyways, Lovely Aplans. They started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you. Erm, no offence, Bishop."

"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor," Octavian tried to keep his voice down, but he couldn't stop the glare. The Doctor smiled sheepishly at the reverend, it wasn't a good idea to anger the man with the gun. Never should. Take the Doctor to offend the very men that were trying to protect them. Octavian again trained his sights on the upcoming passage way, holding up three fingers as they drew an offensive front.

Everyone reached the top of the staircase, the flat surface covered in dozens of more broken statues. It was a narrow passage way lined with statues looking in every direction, surrounding the group as they walked in.

Octavian stopped, pointing his gun to the ground, his men scouting the area. He looked across from them, pointing to the left, "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here. That way."

River pulled Ander behind her, her hand curled around her so tight it was almost painful. Ander stared up at her, trying to come up with some sort of plan, any plan. Which way to run, which way should she turn? It was never clearly went into on the show, it never showed how they were able to get away, the exact tunnels taken to reach safety. River knew, to an extent. Was she was still going to protect her? The ten year old tried to keep her thoughts straight as they walk forward slightly, towards the large group of statues.

Her hands went hot again and she can feel herself sweat in Rivers grip. Ander tried to look away from the mass of Angels in front of them.

_It's just like the show._

She could hear Amy as she stumbled slightly on a root behind them and wished, _wished, _that she would just keep quiet.

"Self-marriage?" Amy gave a sly grin and chuckled. The last to enter the group, "Church had a point, if you think about it. The divorces must have been messy." she brought a finger across her throat, laughing softly.

No. Nope. Not even a bit quiet. She said the same thing, just like before. Ander stared in perpetual horror at Amy. She just had to say it. She had to say the line. That starts everything that Ander couldn't do anything about. It was the same events, the same movement, the same gestures, everything the same.

Her throat went dry and felt like it was going to close. She wanted to go home. Home. Home, home, home. A breath she didn't know she was holding came out, and she grabbed the front of her jacket. Her heart felt like it was turning into a jack hammer, pounding away mercilessly at her ribs. It was going to happen, she didn't stop it. She should have just opened her mouth and said something. Why couldn't she say anything, it was like class all over again! Amy's line was what made the Doctor stop. That was the line that made him think. That was the line that made him finally,_ finally -. _

Ander spun away from the ginger to look at the Doctor, and she dug her nails into River's hand. Her mind numbed over. His back was to her as he tensed, freezing in the middle of the room. She wanted to scream, to shout as he came to the conclusion right there and then. Her lower lip trembled and her face went hot. His flashlight was aimed at the closest statue which stood harmlessly on a tall rock.

It held itself in a non-threatening stance, a hand daintily positioned on its' throat and another on a hip, as if it was swooning in place. The featureless face was pointed away from the group, head tilted back as though it was enjoying its own little dance. The dozen others behind it faced ever direction but towards them, staring around the room and away from the entrance in which the group came from.

Every single statue was in a nonthreatening stance, all of them standing tall and in their characteristic poses. All standing in the shadows, facing away. The Doctor stared at them with his own blank face.

"Oh?" he doesn't turn away from the swooning rock, his voice blunt, almost as if the revelation was a bore. He kept his flashlight trained on the figures.

"You could have said something Fitz," His voice was low and tight, "This would have been one of those many times you _really could have said something_." he took a moment, growling through clenched teeth as he turned his head slightly to the side, he dared not to move his eyes. Ander nodded in mute acknowledgement as River finally figured it out. Everything clicked at once as well. Her posture went rigid and her mouth dropped in silent horror.

Oh yes, very much indeed. She should have said something. Most likely at the beginning when she first realized who the Doctor was, where she was. Yes, then would have been good. Or maybe she should have started screaming on top of her lungs when she first woke up on the ground. That was an even better idea. She blamed it on her pudgy body, the girls in her class always said the fatter you were, the more stupid you ought to be.

"What's wrong?" Amy frowned, confused. She was getting confused way too often this time, and she was on such a role since meeting Churchill. She looked between the two as River walked forward, standing by the Doctor's side, dragging the frozen child behind her.

River stared in awed terror at the same figure, the Doctor's flashlight locked onto it, his posture stiff. Ander lets out a soft croaked whimper as she tried to pull her hand free again and move away. Neither of the three move their eyes from the stone. River wouldn't let go.

Ander refused to blink, refused to look away for even a second. The statues knew what they were talking about, they were aware enough to listen in. She really should have said something. Had she known it would have been the same, she would have tried anything at all to remove this scene, to change the future.

"Oh," River mirrored the Doctor, understandable not alright with this. Her eyes were wide as she kept them from watering. She was not going to blink.

The Doctor nodded slowly, grimly looking at their chances. The two clergy men at the door shot each other confused looks, refusing to holster their weapons. Ander yanked desperately at the woman's hand, she knew she didn't have a chance against alien strength, but maybe if she annoyed her enough, she would let go?

"Exactly!" the harsh growl was almost a whisper too soft to hear, and the Doctor resisted throwing his flashlight at the nearest one. To just run and make a break for it.

Another shiver went across Ander back and she repositioned her glasses, heart pounding against her abused ribs. She felt like she was going to pass out from the sudden heat that enveloped her. Her body was somehow on fire while still ice cold and she felt the world slightly tilt. She needed to get away.

"How could we not notice that?" River hisses through her teeth, squeezing Ander's hand tightly, passed painful and she winced.

"Low level perception filter," The Doctor growled through clenched teeth, digging his fingers into his flashlight, tapping away agitatedly. How could he have missed this, the cleverest man in the universe? Apparently not. He took a large step back, River and him shoulder to shoulder, "_Or maybe we're just thick!" _

_It was exactly the same. Completely in every way. It was like she wasn't even here._

For once they were on the same page. Amy came behind them, looking to see what was the big upset between them. River yanked both Amy and the child behind her back not so gently, cursing her cleverness. Of all the times for it to give out, her wit left her in this type of situation? She really did have the worst luck. Ander hid behind River's back without a fuss, looking nervously around her shoulder at the shadowed figure. Now, if only she would let her go, Ander would make a break for it the first chance she got.

"What's wrong, sir?" Octavian looked around him, trying as well to see what had changed. His cleric stood still around the room, pointing at the different corridors in formation.

"Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are," The Doctor hissed, speaking quickly again. His back was rigid and his face hard. He didn't give anyone time to undermine his command, "Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger." The Reverend looked at the Doctor in confusion, not understanding the sudden change of attitude.

"What danger?" Octavian grabbed the top of his helmet, his forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows taunt. What, what could it be now? His finger was on the trigger ready for anything that would come. The Doctor was an enigma, and it seemed he would be more a danger to his clergy than a benefit.

"The Aplans." River hissed through her teeth, wanting badly to shoot the creatures in front of her.

Ander could barely keep her eyes focused she was shaking so much. Her glasses clicked against her nose, making the room quake behind them. There was strength in numbers, and the clergy made a protective bubble around the unarmed civilians and prisoner. She bit into her lip, eyes wide as the group came together, instinctively formed a pack in the middle of the room. It was going to happen, it was starting.

_The show was starting._

"The Aplans?" Octavian was trying, he was, but it was like the two of them were speaking another language. He grabbed his gun harder, keeping his voice as calm and even as possible.

No, just no. Ander couldn't stop. She was trembling, her shaking jerking River's arm. This was too real, too soon, too much. It was too much. They needed to stop. They had to. Octavian still didn't get it, the clergy were oblivious, Amy was too, and if she had just talked earlier. If she had just said something maybe they could have covered this part without actually having to do it, like when you skip the next chapter of a textbook in math and went straight to the test. Now they had to say everything, they had to. Octavian needed to know that -

"_They've!"_ Ander's voice was louder then it was meant to be, she was all but yelling, and she was heard. God, she sounded terrible. She jumped, her new found control over her lips a complete shock. Ander regretted talking immediately, almost everyone in the group turned to look at her. Her voice was still hoarse from earlier and she sounded like she had a terrible cold. River turned to look down at her, taking her eyes off the statues for just a moment.

"Now she talks." River truly did not mean to sound that bitter, but under such circumstances Ander would just have to forgive her on a later date. She ignored the glare the Doctor sent her for her tone, he was going to have to deal with it at the moment. They had more pressing matters. She wanted a gun of some sort. Now would be fabulous time to get it, "Great observational skills."

"Yes. Great. Dandy." The Doctor's voice was cold as they backtracked, walking towards the exit they had come from. Amy stood protected behind the two seasoned travellers, her eyes wide as she tried to catch up with their new found realization.

"_S-s-,_" Oh man, could this get any worse? Ander tried to fix her throat with a cough, she really did, but her body was shaking too much. _This _didn't happen in the show and Ander felt slightly better because of that. Even if she couldn't apologize it was amazing to get a response other than what she knew they would say. It felt amazing.

"Not now," River made sure to keep her voice neutral this time. No need to put herself further up on her Doctor's bad list. She tried to grin cheerily, "Apologize later, when you're older." Ander was not going to think about what that applied. Maybe she was misunderstanding her, she was a kid after all. Grownups said things all the time that went over her head. She did not just imply they would meet when she's older, she just didn't get the joke. She fiddled with the side of her glasses, biting her lip.

"Yes, the Aplans, I get that. So?" Octavian tried to get them back on track.

"Ander," If River wasn't so mad at herself, for her own deftness, she might have said this more sweetly. She might have coated it with sugar to get the girl to talk with just an once of self confidence, "What was it you were saying?"

It was like impromptu acting, as if she was still was in theatre class from last summer. Ander felt detached from reality as she watched herself speak, everyone moving like puppets on strings. It was like everything, the entire moment was a high-definition movie. That she wasn't really there, just watching a moment somewhere else. The pounding of her heart felt so far away, the tingling in her body a distant memory.

Ander tried desperately, tried to talk again, tried to get her mind back into her head and change the designated route. "_They've..,_" her voice sounded terrible, but she could do this. She could handle one more sentence, her throat finally clearing up. Now that she was talking, no reason to stop. She just had to change one thing, "_Aplans have two heads."_

_She just had to change something. She couldn't let it happen the same way. What was the point of it all then?_

"Yes." The Doctor was cold as he punctuated each syllable, "So why don't the statues?" he turned his flashlight to each statue with every word, illuminating where their second head should be. He let it sink into everyone's mind. "Everyone, over there! _Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak!_"

Everyone moved quickly at his tone, to a corner where there was nothing, their backs to a wall. They regrouped into a protective circle, Amy and Ander hidden safely behind the Doctor's back and pressed against the wall. The child hid behind their legs, peaking around them.

"OK. I want you all to switch off your torches. One by one turn them off." It was an understatement to say they were nervous, the clergy shifted their mass. Their guns turning every which way. One would take a step forward, look behind him at another, and take a step back. They shifted on the tips of their boots, hopping up and down as they loosened the muscles of their legs, ready to run.

_No, they were doing everything the same._

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy hissed behind him, pushing Ander farther behind her for more protection. No reason to have a kid in the line of fire right?

"Sir?" Octavian didn't move, he wasn't going to until he understood.

"Just do it!" The Doctor yelled out, there wasn't any time to explain. There was no time to grumble!

_Why was it happening the same way? Nothing was changing. It was exactly the same as the show. _

"Now, you all, turn them off."

They reluctantly, slowly, turned off their torches one by one. Ander flinched as a hand suddenly grabbed her, Amy tying to give her a reassuring pat on her shoulder as she took a tight hold onto her jacket with her other hand. It seemed now that no one was holding onto her, Amy had taken it on herself to watch her. She still did not understand what was happening though. She should be freaking out just like her, Ander was being rational here. Not her. No, Amy didn't get it.

_Word for word. Action for action._

"OK..," he still didn't blink, he wouldn't, "I'm going to turn off this one too." The Doctor looked at the swooning statue, the one closes to them,"Just for a moment." he whispered, slinking his hair back with a quick nervous hand.

"No more than a second," The Doctor put both hands on the light, a finger on the off switch. He looked behind him quickly, making eye contact with River and then Amy.

_Oh God, he was going to turn off the lights._

"_Don't turn off the lights!_" She was shrieking, tugging at his jacket so suddenly she gave herself whiplash. Her fingers pulled desperately at his back and suspenders as Amy tried to grab her again. She pulled her arm free of her hands and cried out, "_Don't!"_

Doctor jumped, squawking as she clawed, and he turned to look at her in shock, "Fitz!?" He tried to pull her hands away with his one free hand. River grabbed onto her hands instead, ripping them away. She let out a terrible sound, something closer to a screaming whine as River pushed her behind her again. She clawed at them, trying to grab at the Doctor again as they made eye contact. The soldiers were becoming more and more agitated, but she couldn't care less.

"_Don't pleas_e!" his eyes held something she didn't understand, and for a moment everything became less certain. Everything was less written in stone and more spontaneous. He could see her, her fear, her knowledge. Everything that would happen, everything that didn't have to be. He had to understand. She didn't look away from his face as she tried again to get her message though to him with just her eyes, pushing from her spot behind the group. She peered desperately between River's arm as she tried to forcefully ducked her head back.

"_Please_!"

Finally! It was different, it wasn't acting! They had finally deviated from the scene, it was different! He was looking at her, trying to understand where she was coming from. Trying to change something, to think ahead. It was happening! River grabbed her hand again as she was tucked further back, barely able to see anyone over Amy's and River's arms.

"Fitz. You have to let me do this," He gave her one last hard look before turning around. His voice was sure, his tone similar to all his other nonnegotiable selves. He was the Doctor, and he was going to do what he would always do.

"But-," he cuts her off with that lopsided grin and he tugged on his jacket, shuffling it on her shoulders. River squeezes her hand hard as he finally made his decision final. No, no no no no. He didn't understand! He couldn't see it from where she was, but she could! He didn't understand that he was finally free. Free from whatever written curse he was under. They didn't have to play anymore, they could just run away. Run and run and run like his Tenth self did for years! Run away!

_No._

_No no no no no!_

"I'm not mad," Ander blinked her tears away behind her tilted lenses. What? His face, for the first time since they reentered the catacombs went soft, and he looks at her with the kindest eyes. Giving her a grin before turning away again, "I promise you."

Mad? She tried to shake off the sudden warmth that spread through her face as he turned to look back at the angel. His smile was nice, but it was inappropriate. He wasn't mad?

_No!_

That wasn't the point of all this! She didn't care if an imaginary man was mad! She tried to think straight and count down from twelve. They needed to do the exact opposite of the screenplay! Ander whimpered into River's arm, wrapping her free arm around it and burying her face into her sleeve. She was shaking full force, her legs jerking and she was gasping again. Hyperventilating in River Song's arms as the Doctor made the worst decision of his life.

She was sorry for not saying something sooner, she was. However, they should just listen, listen and run before they moved! Run without doing anything unneeded. Move before the act, they needed to skip forward! They needed to run away! Please just run!

River watched him from the corner of her eye, pressing Ander against the wall with her back, "Are you sure about this?"

_It was all the same!_

"No." The Doctor growled. He's not moving from this spot. He slowly puts his finger back on the off switch, getting himself back together. The soldier's looked between him and the Octavian, and he spared the Doctor a glance of his own. A dark gleam returned to his eyes and he pointed his light at the ground.

He gave Octavian a glance, and the man nodded, a dark look on his face as well. The Doctor then switched off his torch, just for a split second. The room went dark less time then it took to blink. The shadows covering everything, figures became one with each other. There was an audible click as he flicked his switch back, everyone holding their breath.

The statues which looked so innocent before, were now all facing the same direction. Facing them.

The Doctor hissed and snapped to left, running towards the direction of the ship. He moved so quickly, no one had anytime to stop him. They reeled back, gasps filling the room as the soldiers brought their guns up higher, pointing desperately around the room at each one. They didn't have enough bullets for this.

"Oh, my God! _They've moved!" _Amy screeched, backing up to brace herself against the wall. A hand over her heart in fear.

"They're Angels," The Doctor turned around quickly from the other side of the room, pushing his way through the middle of the group to the other side of the entrance, "All of them!"

"But they can't be!" River looked around frantically, estimating the number surrounding them. All of them were looking, empty stone eyes meeting their gazes. The others followed after the Doctor as he looked at the statues lining their way to the ship, staying as close to the wall as possible.

Ander was dragged behind them, River's grip now loose. No one knew which way to look, which statue to pay attention to now. Amy let go of her jacket while still in shock and the group dispersed, losing their safety bubble.

_Nothing was different at all!_

"Stupid!" The word just tumbled out, her lips chattering, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" It seemed now that she started, nothing was going to stop her thoughts from being voiced. She was yelling before she could stop herself, stomping her feet in her childish nature, and yanked her hand free of River's. She moved automatically, letting go of River who was too preoccupied to notice the child slip away. They were too busy doing what she begged them not to. She quickly made her way around the rocks.

"Less name calling more action!" The Doctor's speech patterns were becoming easier to follow, but his accent was still messing it up for the ten-year old. She was not used to accents. He jumped away from them, "Clerics, keep watching them! Do not look away from them! Keep constant contact!" He ran around the room, pointing his screwdriver in random directions. The Doctor ran down the stairs in the direction they came, only to backtrack with a panicked sound, stumbling over the last step.

The Angels had all moved forward, one right outside the entrance where the group stood, crawling on the ground without legs and staring up at them. Another stood right outside of sight, around the edge of the door way, its arms extended in a leap. Had the Doctor not turned when he had, it would have been too late. Another had its arm outstretched, trying to touch anyone who got close enough at the bottom of the nearest ledge. The Doctor hissed as he looked down the staircase. It was littered with dozens of stone bodies which weren't there moments before. All looking their direction, staring at him. He jumped away from the doorway, back to the group.

"Every statue in this maze, _every single one,_ is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

Ander couldn't help but to throw a tantrum. It was all the same! Nothing had deviated in the slightest. No one knew what to do for a moment, which way to turn, and they again formed a tight bubble, this time out of sheer panic and desperation. Ander got further away as no one noticed. Slowly, she backed up towards the doorway to the ship, the way she knew they would have to go. They just needed to go down it, what was stopping them? Why were they just standing around? They needed to skip the part with Angel Bob and book it to the ship. She couldn't understand why no one was coming with her. They knew which way was up. This was just a script, they should have been able to work around it!

_Why wouldn't they deviate!_

She dug her toes into the dirt. Was it that hard to do the exact opposite of what they did on television? They were stuck, having to follow the same written path over and over? She was going to have to play them all, relive the terrifying episode scene by scene? She tried to stop them, she did, to deter them even a little! But it didn't work. It was too much. Why was she still here, why was she with a group of actors in a cave?

She needed to stop the show. This wasn't a set, this wasn't going to go just like the episode. She wouldn't let it go. Ander was shaking like a leaf in the wind, making herself as small as possible. She was surrounded by the impossible, she was being hunted by a monsters from under her bed. This was just a script of a show. She was just cutting in, interrupting the play. Ander watched as the Reverend asked the Doctor what was their next move.

The same words he used on the television. They were just repeating themselves, that's all. It was the damn script!

_Word for bloody word!_

The Angels were waking up, and here they all were, standing around like some sort of demented breakfast in bed. They were doing the same things over again! The same actions! It was a script that they were playing, they were the main characters, written down on pages. It was just some sort of demented script she was replaying on her television.

No! No no no no! She was not part of this. She was not going to act like she was just another character in this bastardized novel. Going through the motions as words repeated themselves, as everything happened the same way, as no one did anything differently.

She wasn't on stage, she never read this, this was not a show, and she was not an actress. She curled her finger's desperately into her jacket, her knees bent in a crouch. She squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could and bit into her lip with a whine. She took a deep inhale through her nose. She was not an actress. she was not, she just wasn't. She was not going to play.

Ander bolted away from the group and down the hallway, her legs burning as she darting around any statue that came too close. She didn't look behind her, she couldn't. Not as the Doctor started to scream for her. She was not going to look as he yelled her name again or as River called for her as well.

"NO!" his screams were getting closer as she darting around another tunnel. She could hear him running as she wheezed and she used to walls to catapult her further ahead, "Fitz! Ander! No! No no no no no!"

* * *

AUTHOR NOTES:

Alright, out with it before any else I always say. This is going to be a long tale, a very very very long story, if I do this right. There will be romance, and there will be action, and drama, comedy, and whatever else I try to fit into this. However there is a reason for the rating. It will not happen for a while of course, but there is a real reasons it starts off as mature and never goes down. It will be hinted at, situations might arise, but nothing happens until a long while. Please don't get upset at the idea, there will only be consensual relationships between two grown adults. Nothing - AND I MEAN NOTHING - of the sort will occur to _ten-year old_ Ander. Come on guys, even I have standards. Child adult relationship- no no no.

On another note.

Alright, I knew I wasn't going to get a truck load of reviews.

However, It's slowly sinking in, like being shackled to a slab of cement and thrown into the middle of the ocean. I'm gonna go sob in the shower while holding my cat. I don't blame people for having their own opinions and not reviewing.

I think I need to go sit in the corner and think. I'm pretty sure I need a beta to help me out now. I'm gonna go hold my head in my hands and read up on some freaking literature. Yep, that sounds like a great idea at the moment. Very very nice. I'm going to go learn how to write now.

However, I'm going to look at these two reviews like they're delicious bananas instead. Two very delicious bananas that stops me from slamming my had into my desk repeatedly.

Hopefully I can turn this into something with the help of some Beta awesomeness.

(Grabs a literature textbook and puts on her thinking glasses.)


End file.
